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Updated: Jul 31, 2026

Examining the Characteristics of Episodic Memory using Event-related Potentials in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease
Published on: August 30, 2011
The subjective perception of past, present, and future time in patients with Alzheimer's disease: a qualitative study
Azusa Shiromaru-Sugimoto1, Hidetomo Murakami1, Akinori Futamura1
1Division of Neurology, Department of Internal Medicine, Showa University School of Medicine, Tokyo 142-8666, Japan, onoken@med.showa-u.ac.jp.
Background:
The relationship between dementia and time perception impairment is unknown.
Aim:
This study aims to explore subjective perception of the passage of time in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD).
Methods:
We conducted semi-structured interviews with 11 AD patients. Grounded theory, a qualitative research methodology, was used for data analysis.
Results:
Based on interview transcripts, five categories were designated: {Live according to a private clock}, {The past comes up}, {Move back and forth between the present and the past}, {Cannot imagine the future}, and {Bid farewell to this world as early as tomorrow}.
Discussion:
Our results suggest that AD patients alternate past and present without complete awareness and cannot imagine a future other than one ending in death.
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