Andrea Gilmore-Bykovskyi, PhD, RN, was featured in The New York Times Magazine to discuss landmark research on paradoxical lucidity, the unexpected return of mental clarity in people with advanced dementia. A UW–Madison research team conducted the observational study using continuous video data gathered in collaboration with Agrace’s hospice memory care unit.
Funded as part of a $10 million National Institute on Aging (NIA) initiative, the project used second-by-second video analysis to capture objective evidence of brief periods of heightened vocalization, working memory and nonverbal engagement in late-stage Alzheimer's disease patients.
“People could spend their entire careers studying this,” Gilmore-Bykovskyi said to The New York Times.
Documenting these lucid moments offers critical implications for hospice care and challenges existing scientific models regarding irreversible brain degeneration, Gilmore-Bykovskyi said. Ultimately, these insights highlight how attentive caregiving and environmental triggers can improve communication near the end of life. Following the study published in The Gerontologist, Gilmore-Bykovskyi helped launch the cross-disciplinary Lucidity in Alzheimer’s and Dementia Network to expand research in the field systematically.
“Why Do Some Dementia Patients ‘Return’ Just Before They Die?” was published by The New York Times Magazine on July 14, 2026.
By Eli Gadbury
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“What can moments of lucidity teach us about Alzheimer’s?” was published by Science Friday on August 18, 2026.
