Celebrity Recall Might Hold Key to Alzheimer's Risk

Do you remember who starred in True Grit? How about the names of the two men who dressed as women in Some Like It Hot? It turns out this knowledge might come in handy for more than trivia games. New research suggests that knowledge about celebrities might hold a clue in the early detection of Alzheimer's disease.

Researchers at the University of Montreal showed a group of 117 healthy seniors (aged 60 to 91) pictures of 30 celebrities and asked them to recall information about the celebrities, such as name, profession, nationality and biographical information. With the healthy seniors, researchers found that the ability to recall a subject's name decreased over time, but the ability to recall details about a celebrity is less affected.

The same researchers then performed a similar test on seniors who had mild cognitive impairment or the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. In this group, the seniors had an easier time recalling celebrities' names, but they were less able to recall details.

The researchers think that this type of semantic memory test might prove useful in assessing those at risk for dementia and Alzheimer's. Semantic memory is the information that we gather throughout our lives to help us remember and recognize other people.