ABSTRACT
Dementia is a set of symptoms: There is evidence of a decline in memory and thinking which is of a degree sufficient to impair functioning in daily living, present for six months or more. Particularly as the dementia progresses, psychiatric symptoms may develop that take on a variety of characteristics resembling discrete mental disorders such as psychosis, mania, depression or anxiety. The commonest types of dementia are considered to be Alzheimer's disease, Lewy body disease and vascular dementia. A reduction in the quantity of brain cells that are involved in the release of acetylcholine has been associated with Alzheimer's disease. The efficacy of formalised behavioural therapy has been demonstrated in the context of dementia in only a small number of studies. Reminiscence therapy involves helping a person with dementia to relive past experiences, especially those that might be positive and personally significant.
