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February 2, 2018 鈥� , a Professor Emeritus in the , taught on the Hilltop for 40 years before retiring from the classroom. He鈥檚 still teaching now, but to a new audience: His latest book on Alzheimer鈥檚 disease and dementia was published this week by Oxford University Press.

is the latest in an Oxford series that engages experts from a variety of fields to write easily accessible guides to their areas of expertise. Sabat 鈥� who has researched people with Alzheimer鈥檚 disease for 36 years and written extensively on the topic 鈥� was approached to write the installation on Alzheimer鈥檚 and dementia in 2016.

鈥淭he book took seven months to write, but the learning has been going on for three and a half decades!鈥� he quipped.

REFRAMING THE DIALOGUE

The opening chapters of Sabat鈥檚 book answer basic questions including the neurological roots of dementia, which diseases can cause it, and what drugs have been used in its treatment.     

But unlike most modern books on the topic, Alzheimer鈥檚 Disease and Dementia does not stop with a focus on cutting-edge pharmacological research in search of medical treatments or cures.

Instead, it focuses primarily on reframing the dialogue around people who experience these symptoms 鈥� looking at those with Alzheimer鈥檚 and dementia as people rather than just as patients, and emphasizing their significant remaining social and cognitive strengths that can be engaged by their care partners to the advantage of all concerned.

鈥淛ust because you have certain kinds of difficulties, doesn鈥檛 mean you cease to be a person,鈥� Sabat said. 鈥淧eople diagnosed with dementia have more in common with people who don鈥檛 than we generally assume. We have to remember the commonalities that we share.鈥�

SIGNAL-DETECTION THEORY

Sabat describes treatment of people with Alzheimer鈥檚 and dementia as a classic example of signal-detection theory, the psychological phenomenon of information being interpreted in ways shaped by pre-existing ideas. If you expect to see pathology, for example, it鈥檚 hard not to see a person鈥檚 every action as being pathological.

鈥淚f a person lives in a nursing home and walks about in a common area, she鈥檚 described as 鈥榳andering,鈥欌�� Sabat said. 鈥淏ut what makes her a wanderer? She鈥檚 not allowed to take a walk? We start with a disease-based storyline about someone, and every neutral thing they do is then labeled as a pathology to fit the storyline.鈥�

The book is designed to be accessible to a broad audience, with a focus on relatives and caregivers of people with Alzheimer鈥檚 and dementia. But Sabat hopes that medical practitioners also take his book鈥檚 lessons to heart.

鈥淧rofessionals can learn from this, too,鈥� Sabat said. 鈥淪ometimes we construct illness even when it鈥檚 not there, and this is meant as a corrective.鈥�

LESSONS FROM GEORGETOWN

Alzheimer鈥檚 Disease and Dementia鈥檚 humanist, narrative-based approach to understanding disease comes as little surprise to those who knew Sabat from Georgetown lecture halls, where his psychology classes often featured compelling stories, philosophical observations and life lessons.

Sabat, who taught a section of General Psychology every semester of his career, called back to his teaching years in order to write a book for all audiences.

鈥淢y years at Georgetown prepared me to do this 鈥� I spent all that time teaching undergraduates, who are not necessarily all that well versed in what I鈥檓 talking about,鈥� he said. 鈥淒id I get bored? No, because for the people in the class, it was always their first time, and I had to make it good for them!鈥�

For Sabat, the book presents an opportunity to continue living out the Georgetown ideal of 鈥渕en and women for others鈥� even after leaving his everyday role on the Hilltop.

鈥淲hen you鈥檙e in an environment where the raison d鈥檈tre is the betterment of others for the good of society, you take that with you,鈥� he said.