Grandad is an artist! Dementia and the creative mind.

Dementia is commonly regarded as a cruel and relentlessly progressive disorder -where, over time, a person is stripped of their unique skills and identity. But recently clinicians have noted not only deficits in dementia patients, but that other cognitive skills remain intact - and can even become accentuated. Remarkably a number of patients with dementia develop new artistic abilities. According to neurologist Bruce Miller, from the Memory and Aging Centre in California, the maintenance and even growth of artistic skills in dementia patients offers insight into creativity and brain plasticity. Bruce and Professor John Hodges, from the University of Cambridge, consider what we know about dementia and its impact on personality and ability.