Analyzing conditions for recognizing pictures of family members in a patient with Alzheimer's disease

One adult with Alzheimer’s disease worked on a computer.

The task: match a sample photo of a family member to the correct photo in a row of three.

Training used matching-to-sample. After learning A-B and B-C pairs, the team tested if the man could now pick out family faces he had never been directly taught.

Checks ran again one year later to see if the new links stayed strong.

The man quickly formed the new picture relations.

Without extra teaching, he could now select photos of his loved ones in untrained combinations.

One year on, the skill was still there, showing long-term maintenance.

Camara et al. (2017) tried a similar identity-matching program in a larger group with dementia. They also saw gains in matching, but the benefit was smaller and did not spread to every test. The tighter stimulus set and longer follow-up in Brogård‐Antonsen et al. (2019) may explain the stronger, lasting effect.

Kelly (2020) laid out a theory that stimulus equivalence training could boost overall cognition in older adults. The present study gives a live example: one client not only learned photo relations but kept them for twelve months, showing the promise Kelly sketched on paper.

Tenneij et al. (2009) and LeFrancois et al. (1993) showed that small procedural tweaks—like delaying the sample—help adults with cognitive limits master matching tasks. Brogård‐Antonsen kept the standard MTS format, proving that even the basic version can work when content is personally meaningful.

If you support adults with dementia, you now have a low-cost tool. Use matching-to-sample with family photos to build emergent recognition. Run short daily sessions on a tablet, then probe untaught combinations. Schedule monthly checks; the 2019 case shows the skill can stick for a year, giving families more moments of connection without extra medication.