Improved social interaction and increased anterior cingulate metabolism after group reminiscence with reality orientation approach for vascular dementia

A group reminiscence approach (GRA) with reality orientation (RO) is widely used as a psychosocial intervention for dementia. Since clinical effectiveness was reported for the intervention, interest has been directed toward areas of the neuronal network that might be being stimulated. We hypothesized that the frontal lobe associated with social interaction was being stimulated. To test this hypothesis, we studied 24 patients with vascular dementia. In addition to conventional care, a 1-h session of GRA with RO was provided once a week for 3 months in the GRA-RO arm (n = 12). Only supportive care was provided in the control arm (n = 12). Before and after the interventions, cognitive function, depressive state, and social activities were assessed. Since glucose metabolism is associated with brain function, cerebral glucose metabolism was measured by positron emission tomography (PET). Regarding behavioral improvement, 10 patients in the GRA-RO arm showed improvement compared with only two patients in the control arm, a significant difference. PET demonstrated that metabolism in the anterior cingulate was increased in the GRA-RO arm, whereas no significant changes were observed in the control arm. These results suggest that GRA-RO stimulates the anterior cingulate and has a positive effect on social interaction.