Anne,
I find that these older gals put on a show, when others come
around. I don't know if it's for attention or sympathy or
because they think they're expected to act like a fool.
My friend remembers names of people she knew 4 decades ago.
Names I can't remember, she does. She recalls dates, locations, and spellings better than people I know, not in a nursing home.

But there are times she acts wackier than a loon. I don't buy
into it but I think some folks do. Some of it could be that
her stepdaughters don't want her to return home. And she
thinks if she doesn't act the part, the nursing home administrators will say she doesn't belong there. And she thinks then she'd have nowhere to go.