在对患有痴呆症的人群进行预防和改善治疗的目标之际，仍然需要提高目前确诊患者生活质量的努力，尤其是将准确信息从专业人士传递给公众。虽然许多医疗专业人士了解不同类型的记忆以及在痴呆症进展过程中哪些记忆更容易受到影响，但非专业人士更常对这些重要信息缺乏了解。用于描述痴呆症状的术语对于人们对缺失、损害或保留的认知机能有很大影响。在这方面，理解患有痴呆症者所保留的记忆机能和其他认知能力的微妙差别非常重要。将“失忆”这个术语用于描述痴呆症综合征，并将其归因于患有痴呆症的人员，暗示他们无法形成新的记忆并参与有意义的社交互动，这对他们的人格是有害的。我们通过融合神经学、神经生物学、心理学和案例细节来多学科的方法，在本文中旨在突出“失忆”一词的不准确性、适得其反和促进痴呆症相关的错误观念、恶性定位和恶性社会心理的方式。无疑，痴呆症患者在明确记忆或根据需要进行回忆方面存在困难，但他们保留了隐含记忆，这已经得到研究和日常行为的证实。因此，我们提议使用替代的医学术语准确反映记忆受损和某些重要记忆能力的保留。

Amidst goals for prevention and improved treatment for people living with dementia, much remains needed to enhance the quality of life of those currently diagnosed, especially the transfer of accurate information from professionals to the public. Although many healthcare professionals understand the various types of memory and which are likely to be more affected than others during the progression of dementia, lay persons are more frequently unaware of that important information. The terms used to describe the symptoms of dementia can have a great impact on perceptions of faculties that are absent, compromised, or preserved. Understanding the nuances of preserved memory faculties and other cognitive abilities retained by persons with dementia is important in this regard. The term "memory loss" as a descriptor of the syndrome of dementia and ascribing it to persons with dementia connotes an inability to form new memories and participate in meaningful social interactions, which is detrimental to their personhood. From a multidisciplinary approach drawn from neurology, neurobiology, psychology, and case vignettes, we aim herein to highlight the ways in which the term "memory loss" can be inaccurate, counterproductive and potentially promote dementia-related misperceptions, malignant positioning and malignant social psychology. Persons with dementia unequivocally struggle with explicit memory, or recalling on demand, but retain implicit memory, as evidenced by research and everyday actions. Therefore, we propose the use of alternative medical language to reflect accurately memory impairment and preservation of some important memory capabilities.