Epistemics and frontotemporal dementia

Abstract

We explore how patients with the behavioural variant of frontotemporal dementia
(bvFTD) display different degrees of understanding when reporting on their experience
of being ill. Using the methods of conversation analysis, we examine the
video-recordings of bvFTD patients who had participated in clinical follow-up interviews
with a doctor. Patient responses to the doctor’s questions were analyzed
with respect to the action undertaken (i.e., confirmation vs. denial) and the epistemic
stance (i.e., certainty vs. uncertainty) that was conveyed. We found that although
patient denials of being ill were conveyed with certainty, these patients were
unable to elaborate on their denials, thus generating an implication that they are
not aware of their illness and its effects on their lives. By contrast, patients who
confirmed being ill tended to produce expanded responses that either revealed the
patient’s primary access to knowledge or the patient’s difficulty in understanding
the doctor’s question.