Ethics of the relationship to the face and Alzheimer's in pandemic period

What is it about?

Wearing a mask, a necessity of the pandemic, changes the relationship to the face in daily life, but this essential relationship to social interactions is profoundly disrupted in people with Alzheimer's disease and often puts a strain on ehpad residents and their families. Without calling into question the security necessities related to the pandemic, how can we think that a relative who removes his mask in front of an ehpad resident would do so only out of indiscipline? This article, published in the Journal of Alzheimer's disease, exposes the neuropsychology of the relationship to the face in order to show the ethical and human stakes involved. While waiting for better days, an ethic of understanding is needed, perhaps helped by the adoption of transparent masks, at least each time that opaque masks arouse the worried perplexity of people with Alzheimer's disease.

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Why is it important?

1. How neuropsychology can explain the ethical importance of the relationship to the human face. 2. How neuropsychology can explain the distress of Alzheimer's patients when their relatives wear masks to visit them. 3. Can transparent masks help to preserve at least the sense of familiarity of a face (implicit recognition) even without explicit recognition?

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