Speed of Speech, Rather Than Loss of Words, May Be an Early Indicator of Dementia      

Years before they were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, subtle changes became apparent in the spoken and written words of public figures Ronald Reagan and Iris Murdoch. During non-scripted public speaking, the late President Reagan showed a significant reduction in the number of unique words he used and a notable increase in the use of fillers and non-specific nouns during conversations. In the case of Iris Murdoch, a renowned writer, her Alzheimer’s became apparent in examining her writing over the years, where her last novel showed that her vocabulary had dwindled, and her language usage became much more simplified. 

Now, a new study looks at dwindling language and memory loss, examining other aspects of language that could denote memory decline. But first a note of optimism. . .