The use of conversational laughter by an individual with dementia.

While laughter has been shown to play a significant role in any social interaction; its conversational usage by a person with dementia has rarely been investigated. This paper will investigate the functional aspects of laughter during conversation in an individual with dementia. Conversation analysis is used in order to investigate laughter as a social phenomenon and to be able to investigate laughter in an empirical and authentic manner. The conversational strategies employed through laughter will be detailed and implications will be discussed.