Confabulations in episodic memory are associated with delusions in Alzheimer's disease

Abstract

Although confabulations and delusions are observed in Alzheimer's disease, the relationship between the 2 has not been fully investigated. This study involved 50 patients with Alzheimer's disease and 10 healthy participants. After the patients were divided into delusional and nondelusional groups, confabulations and cognitive function were assessed. No confabulations appeared in the healthy participants, and only patients with Alzheimer's disease showed confabulations. The delusional group produced more confabulations on episodic subjects than on semantic subjects. There was a correlation between cognitive impairment and confabulations in semantic memory. These findings suggest that different mechanisms are involved in confabulations between semantic and episodic memories.