Long-winded speech could be early sign of Alzheimer's disease, says study(theguardian.com)
theguardian.com
Long-winded speech could be early sign of Alzheimer's disease, says study
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/feb/21/long-winded-speech-could-be-early-sign-of-alzheimers-says-study
47 comments
Worrying for me still, heh. I'm both long winded and imprecise as hell. I constantly forget names of things / people. Though, i do suppose it's limited to that. Ask me to remember what something is called, who acted in what movie, etc and i fail to remember the specific names.
However i can remember the details of the movie, where i am, how to get places, where things are stored, etc. My memory worries me.
However i can remember the details of the movie, where i am, how to get places, where things are stored, etc. My memory worries me.
I have a terrible memory for names, and (relatedly?) have awful auto-biographiical memory, which is apparently a distinct thing from other forms of memory. I've got an average-ish memory otherwise.
I'd have trouble giving you specifics of what I did last week, for instance, and I'd be lucky if I could come up with more than one or two things from last month. Last year is a blur—I could come up with a handful of details, mostly anchored to holidays since it's easy to prompt myself with "I know Christmas happened, what did I do for that?" and the like. Forming parts of my life into any kind of narrative is incredibly challenging. I hated those "what did you do over the Summer?" writing prompts elementary school teachers love to give the first week back.
Maybe your situation is similar. I don't have a diagnosis or anything, but pretty sure I'm affected by this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overgeneral_autobiographical_m...
I'd have trouble giving you specifics of what I did last week, for instance, and I'd be lucky if I could come up with more than one or two things from last month. Last year is a blur—I could come up with a handful of details, mostly anchored to holidays since it's easy to prompt myself with "I know Christmas happened, what did I do for that?" and the like. Forming parts of my life into any kind of narrative is incredibly challenging. I hated those "what did you do over the Summer?" writing prompts elementary school teachers love to give the first week back.
Maybe your situation is similar. I don't have a diagnosis or anything, but pretty sure I'm affected by this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overgeneral_autobiographical_m...
Has that affected your career in any way, especially when interviewing?
It has certainly made interviewing hell for me. "Tell me about yourself," they say. My best attempts at explaining anything I've done sound like I'm spouting off random BS, even if it's as basic as how my ride in was or what I had for breakfast.
It has certainly made interviewing hell for me. "Tell me about yourself," they say. My best attempts at explaining anything I've done sound like I'm spouting off random BS, even if it's as basic as how my ride in was or what I had for breakfast.
Oh yeah, same problem here. The absolute worse is answering questions from border/customs officers. It always feels like I'm being deliberately vague or trying to hide something.
If I really think about it, then I can think of details. Or I go through my email archive. Then I write what I did down as a form of a history or resume for myself. I did projects x, y & z and so on.
So: Write down your history and summarize before your interview to keep it fresh in your mind.
So: Write down your history and summarize before your interview to keep it fresh in your mind.
OH yeah, though (as you note) mostly interviewing. Those "tell me about a time when something went wrong" or "tell me about a time you had a conflict with someone" sorts of questions are really stressful. I damn near have to make something up (when prepping, not on the fly) to have anything resembling a satisfying answer to them. I just cannot easily turn my experiences into narratives, most of the time.
... I honestly can't tell if people in this thread are trying to be long-winded or not.
That's really interesting, thank you for the link! Have you ever heard of treatments? Not for a cure specifically, but to help improve specific recall random memories (ie, not specifically remembering Billy, but all people)?
Not aware of any. Only recently found out about this—didn't realize until a few years ago that I was so far outside of normal, just thought everyone's experience was similar to mine, more or less. Only found that Wikipedia article in the last year or so (may have been 2 months ago, may have been 10—haha!)
With memories I want to stick, I consciously play them over again. That kind of works. I still lose so many details that I end up with some vague half-fake thing for which I have to invent details (colors, for example) again every time I re-play it, and that's only a few seconds long, but at least it's something.
Mostly I try not to think about it too much because it's kinda horrifying :-/
With memories I want to stick, I consciously play them over again. That kind of works. I still lose so many details that I end up with some vague half-fake thing for which I have to invent details (colors, for example) again every time I re-play it, and that's only a few seconds long, but at least it's something.
Mostly I try not to think about it too much because it's kinda horrifying :-/
I also have a pretty bad autobiographical memory. Sometimes I'm not sure whether I am X or X-1 years old, how many years I lived in a specific country, how long I worked for a company or simpler things like when was the last time I went to the movies. On the bright side, I've noticed that I can more easily forgive people and don't hold onto bad memories for long.
I don't know of a cure but taking a lot of pictures and having a spouse to serve as my backup memory helps a lot.
I don't know of a cure but taking a lot of pictures and having a spouse to serve as my backup memory helps a lot.
> Mostly I try not to think about it too much because it's kinda horrifying :-/
I can definitely relate to that.
I can definitely relate to that.
Does prompting help retrieval? Like if someone shows you a picture or reminds you of an event?
When i was young, I had an excellent factual memory. I'd remember rules for dungeons and dragons, i could tell you the page, the paragraph and the nearby art to look for. As i got older i noticed that type of memory started to fade, and i'd remember things more procedurally - what things do rather than what they are. It takes me longer to find a rule in a book, but i have deep understanding of what that rule does, how it works.
D&D is a silly example, but it happened for all sorts of things. I sometimes draw blanks on names or faces, but once i get the link back to a conversation we had, i can remember all sorts of details about the person.
The memories themselves are probably built because of interest, a more interesting person is more memorable. But the transition from a fact based model of the world to a action based model of the world was kind of disturbing.
D&D is a silly example, but it happened for all sorts of things. I sometimes draw blanks on names or faces, but once i get the link back to a conversation we had, i can remember all sorts of details about the person.
The memories themselves are probably built because of interest, a more interesting person is more memorable. But the transition from a fact based model of the world to a action based model of the world was kind of disturbing.
I've read that many/most children have a nearly photographic memory up until age 11 or so.
I don't have a citation for it, though.
I don't have a citation for it, though.
I'm a longtime HN lurker that has never signed up for an account.
I created one just now to reply and say thank you for linking this. I have always suffered from these exact symptoms and I knew something wasn't "right," but I could never put it in to words. You did for me.
I'm bookmarking it now so I can talk to my doctor about it! Granted I'll forget about it for like 3 days, until I remember it randomly while doing something else, only to forget about it again before I ever commit it to memory. But still, thank you!
I created one just now to reply and say thank you for linking this. I have always suffered from these exact symptoms and I knew something wasn't "right," but I could never put it in to words. You did for me.
I'm bookmarking it now so I can talk to my doctor about it! Granted I'll forget about it for like 3 days, until I remember it randomly while doing something else, only to forget about it again before I ever commit it to memory. But still, thank you!
It's probably more common than you think. I've found that stress can have a big (and temporary) impact on my memory.
Quite a few adults with ADHD follow the same pattern.
Do you lose stuff too, and get restless when it's other's people time to speak?
Do you lose stuff too, and get restless when it's other's people time to speak?
I've never been good at names or faces. It's embarrassing as people usually remember me :-)
Well, I'm 45 now and noticed all the same stmptoms as you have. I went to a doctor and after 3 hours of testing he told me that no, I don't have Alzheimer, but yes I do have ADHD.
3 hours? What were the tests like?
Also, do you have any advice on how to get a doctor to listen to you for more than 3 minutes before rushing you out with a half-baked diagnosis and a prescription for a medication they barely know anything about?
Also, do you have any advice on how to get a doctor to listen to you for more than 3 minutes before rushing you out with a half-baked diagnosis and a prescription for a medication they barely know anything about?
yeah i have adhd. It's not that I forget things, it's that I wasn't really paying attention to begin with.
This! As Ive aged(Im 40 now) Ive become more acutely aware of it, but I also really don't have a way to turn it off, and then it can get me into some sort of metacognitive loop of why cant you pay attention better all the while Im thinking about that instead of paying attention...
I have ADHD as well, so I wasn't really worried that the symptoms were indicative of Alzheimer's or dementia, but I was still a little worried.
Can anything be done, as I have similar memory problems.
I can't remember names of people, but I'll remember their faces for years even if we just meet once or twice, and recognize them walking down the street.
I always figured it's just what I regard as important or not.
I always figured it's just what I regard as important or not.
The title says being long-winded is a sign of Alzheimer's. Then this quote says being long-winded is actually not the concern. Then later somebody says subjects with cognitive impairment were (I'm paraphrasing) long-winded. Can somebody at the Guardian make up their damn mind, or are they suffering cognitive impairment and early Alzheimer's?
The headline was imprecise; perhaps the author has Alzheimer's.
"... I was wearing an onion on my belt, which was the style at the time..."
"Ronald Reagan started to have a decline in the number of unique words with repetitions of statements over time,” said Sherman. “[He] started using more fillers, more empty phrases, like ‘thing’ or ‘something’ or things like ‘basically’ or ‘actually’ or ‘well’."
Seems like history might be coming around again on this one.
Seems like history might be coming around again on this one.
Had this thought within the hour listening to the business roundtable Trump hosted (on Youtube), before reading this article. Saw a very old interview on Charlie Rose yesterday and he (Trump) seemed sharper then.
Assuming this is talking about Trump and politicians in general (since it's the Guardian and brought up Reagan), repetition is key in politics (or business) to drive home a point. How many times have we seen a product release that repeats ad nauseum, but it's deliberate. Also, being imprecise avoids having to stick to a promise. While I wouldn't say it's a great trait, it's probably still preferable to a politician who makes explicit promises and breaks them.
Anyhow, I have no doubt that it could be a precursor to Alzheimer's, but long-windedness can also be a conscious decision; it convinces enough people that you must know what you're talking about, since you're spending so much time talking about it.
Concise speech using appropriate vocabulary is overrated - it just flies over most people's heads, and if you don't pad your speeches with fluff, they'll mistake conciseness with having nothing to say. Skirting around issues whilst saying nothing using many words is usually a conscious choice among politicians and businessmen.
Anyhow, I have no doubt that it could be a precursor to Alzheimer's, but long-windedness can also be a conscious decision; it convinces enough people that you must know what you're talking about, since you're spending so much time talking about it.
Concise speech using appropriate vocabulary is overrated - it just flies over most people's heads, and if you don't pad your speeches with fluff, they'll mistake conciseness with having nothing to say. Skirting around issues whilst saying nothing using many words is usually a conscious choice among politicians and businessmen.
When I read this, I assumed it was an indirect jab at Trump.
Of course it is. That's why it's published now and any evidence is cited from 2004[1] and 2016[2].
[1] http://www.nature.com/news/2004/041129/full/news041129-4.htm...
[2] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/nov/02/a-decade-of-...
[1] http://www.nature.com/news/2004/041129/full/news041129-4.htm...
[2] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/nov/02/a-decade-of-...
Exactly what I thought. The article written by a journalist with a Twitter feed full of anti-Trump tweets, about a speech at a conference in Boston that also featured an anti-Trump protest. Bringing the Reagan angle into the story sealed it.
The biggest tell is that this article, and the many that were also written in other news sites (rewritten, really) don't cite a specific study.
The biggest tell is that this article, and the many that were also written in other news sites (rewritten, really) don't cite a specific study.
Interesting but probably not Alzheimer's related: ever since my 60's-yo mother had a stroke (ICH) about 2 years ago, she now uses the "well" most often as embolalia when contemplating something because it takes her more mental effort now. Not sure how it relates to the possibility of an elevated Alzheimer's risk.
Clarity of thought is speaking less and saying more, which is a constant struggle to maintain health and energy against the inexorable march of entropy, per genes and habits.
Clarity of thought is speaking less and saying more, which is a constant struggle to maintain health and energy against the inexorable march of entropy, per genes and habits.
“Fred visited Bob after his graduation”
such a sentence could be ambiguous because it's not obvious who graduated. Some may argue it's bob
such a sentence could be ambiguous because it's not obvious who graduated. Some may argue it's bob
This is basically every academic I know, including the missus. I daren't show her this...
Long winded title could be a sign of long winded article
Third time is a charm?
https://hn.algolia.com/?query=alzheimer&sort=byPopularity&pr...
https://hn.algolia.com/?query=alzheimer&sort=byPopularity&pr...
For a minute I was worried I might be losing my mind. Thankfully I've always been garrulous, though I'm sure other people don't see that as a blessing.