Are there any activities that help stimulate recall or memory?

Looking through photo albums and discussing the pictures seems to perk my mother's memory a bit.

Before the onset of dementia giving the brain new tasks to do and new scenery to view and new stuff in general to experience creates more pathways in the brain, which is good reserve as dementia starts to damage pathways -- the more you have the better!

There is no general agreement on whether new experiences help someone with once dementia has begun. Our behavioral neurologist believes firmly that they do for persons with Parkinson's Dementia and Lewy Body Dementia at least.

The specific activity is probably not as important as its "newness."