• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.536-544
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• 2019

Purpose: Proper nutrition is essential for brain development during infancy, contributing to the continued development of cognitive, motor, and socio-emotional skills throughout life. Considering the insufficient published data in the Middle East and North Africa, experts drafted a questionnaire to assess the opinions and knowledge of physicians on the impact of nutrition on brain development and cognition in early life. Methods: The questionnaire consisted of two parts: The first focused on the responders' demographic and professional characteristics and the second questioned the role of nutrition in brain development and cognition. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize respondents' characteristics and their responses to questions. Results: A total of 1,500 questionnaires were distributed; 994 physicians responded. The majority of the surveyed physicians (64.4%) felt that nutrition impacts brain development in early childhood (0-4 years), with almost 90% of physicians agreeing/strongly agreeing that preventing iron, zinc, and iodine deficiency would improve global intelligence quotient. The majority of physicians (83%) agreed that head circumference was the most important measure of brain development. The majority of physicians (68.9%) responded that the period from the last trimester until 18 months postdelivery was crucial for brain growth and neurodevelopment, with 76.8% believing that infants breast-fed by vegan mothers have an increased risk of impaired brain development. Conclusion: The results of this study show that practicing physicians significantly agree that nutrition plays an important role in brain and cognitive development and function in early childhood, particularly during the last trimester until 18 months postdelivery.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.245-252
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• 2024

Ginseng is a traditional herbal medicine used for prevention and treatment of various diseases as a tonic. Recent scientific cohort studies on life prolongation with ginseng consumption support this record, as those who consumed ginseng for more than 5 years had reduced mortality and cognitive decline compared to those who did not. Clinical studies have also shown that acute or long-term intake of ginseng total extract improves acute working memory performance or cognitive function in healthy individuals and those with subjective memory impairment (SMI), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), or early Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia who are taking AD medication(s). Ginseng contains various components ranging from classical ginsenosides and polysaccharides to more recently described gintonin. However, it is unclear which ginseng component(s) might be the main candidate that contribute to memory or cognitive improvements or prevent cognitive decline in older individuals. This review describes recent clinical contributors to ginseng components in clinical tests and introduces emerging evidence that ginseng components could be novel candidates for cognitive improvement in older individuals, as ginseng components improve SMI cognition and exhibits add-on effects when coadministered with early AD dementia drugs. The mechanism behind the beneficial effects of ginseng components and how it improves cognition are presented. Additionally, this review shows how ginseng components can contribute to SMI, MCI, or early AD dementia when used as a supplementary food and/or medicine, and proposes a novel combination therapy of current AD medicines with ginseng component(s).

• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2004.08a
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• pp.202-205
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• 2004

This paper represents the role of pinna in localizing target direction. Specially, this paper described what is the role of right-side pinna versus left-side pinna. In this experiment, one side of the pinna function was distorted intentionally by inserting a short tube on the ear canal. The localization error caused by right and left side pinna distortion was investigated. Since a laser pointer showed much less error (0.5%) in localizing target position than FASTRAK (30%) that has been generally used, it was used for the pointing task. It was found that harmonic components were not essential for the auditory target localization, however, non-harmonic nearby frequency components were more important to localize target direction of sound. We have found that the right pinna is one of the most important functions in localizing target direction and pure tone with only one frequency component is confusing for localization.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.1477-1491
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• 2017

Inspired by the multi-scale nature of hippocampal place cells, a biologically inspired model based on a multi-scale spatial representation for goal-directed navigation is proposed in order to achieve robotic spatial cognition and autonomous navigation. First, a map of the place cells is constructed in different scales, which is used for encoding the spatial environment. Then, the firing rate of the place cells in each layer is calculated by the Gaussian function as the input of the Q-learning process. The robot decides on its next direction for movement through several candidate actions according to the rules of action selection. After several training trials, the robot can accumulate experiential knowledge and thus learn an appropriate navigation policy to find its goal. The results in simulation show that, in contrast to the other two methods(G-Q, S-Q), the multi-scale model presented in this paper is not only in line with the multi-scale nature of place cells, but also has a faster learning potential to find the optimized path to the goal. Additionally, this method also has a good ability to complete the goal-directed navigation task in large space and in the environments with obstacles.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.53-60
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• 2010

Purpose: The purpose of our study was to evaluate the effects of an exercise program on activities of daily living (ADL), balance and cognition in elderly individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. Methods: Thirty-two patients with mild to moderate cognitive impairment were assigned to one of two groups: an exercise group (n=16) and a control group (n=16). The exercise group carried on regular exercise for 60 minutes a day, 4-5 times per week for 8 weeks. The exercise group participated in an exercise program (treadmill training and physical training). ADL, balance and cognitive function were evaluated before and at the end of the program using the Korean modified Bathel Index (K-MBI), the Functional independence measure (FIM), the Berg balance scale (BBS), the Balance performance monitor (BPM), and the Mini mental state examination (MMSE) in both groups. Results: There were significant exercise-induced improvements in ADL and Balance from pre to post tests; but not in MMSE. Conclusion: Exercise programs can improve ADL and balance in elderly with Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.15-39
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• 2008

Objective : The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of breath meditation with neurofeedback on memory, concentration of healthy adult volunteers Method 25 healthy adult volunteers were divided into two groups. One group was treated with breath meditation and real neurofeedback, but the other group was administered with breath meditation and sham neurofeedback three times a week for 10 sessions, Before and after 10 sessions neurofeedback, all subjects were measured by cognitive functions assessment, heart rate variability, BDI, STAI, K-WAIS, HRSD, VAS about amnesia. Results : 1. Breath Meditation decreased error rate and increased concentration, cognition strength, and success rate of Cognitive Functions Assessment. Also, Breath Medication elevated IQ score of K-WAIS short form. 2. Sham : neurofeedback increased concentration, cognition strength compared to Real neurofeedback. Conclusion : The results suggest that breath meditation might effect cognitive function of healthy adult positively, but neurofeedback is not clear. In order to prove whether neurofeedback is effective or not, it should be studied more.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.225-233
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• 2011

Purpose: This study evaluated the feasibility of using Nintendo Wii games for improving cognition, balance, function in patients with dementia. Methods: A total 30 dementia patients were randomly assigned into the experimental group(n=15) and control group(n=15). All subjects performed a general therapeutic exercise, and 30-minute sessions of the table tennis and fencing game of Nintendo Wii were conducted with experimental group 3 times a week for 8 weeks. The intervention effects were measured by using MMSE-K, BBS, and FIM. The results were analyzed by using repeated measure ANOVA. Results: The MMSE-K and BBS scores showed significant differences. A significant interaction was observed between the experimental group and the control group in MMSE-K. The final MMSE-K and BBS scores for the experimental group were significantly higher than those for the control group. However, there was no difference in the FIM scores. Conclusion: We suggest that Nintendo Wii games are effective in cognㅇition and balance improvement in dementia patients. Future research on a variety of programs in needed.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.323-331
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• 2013

Purpose: The study attempted to examine whether the group art therapy using a collage medium and reminiscence therapy prevented or reversed dementia, prevented depression, and improved the quality of life of elderly women at high risk for dementia in community public health centers. Methods: As a quasi-experimental study with a non-equivalent control group, this study used a pre-post design. The subjects consisted of a random sample of women over 65 years of age who had been registered as being at high-risk for dementia at the Public Health Center of the G City, and the Dementia Support Center. Of these elders, 30 were assigned to the experimental group and 33 to the control group. The intervention was conducted twice a week for 5 weeks. $x^2$-test, t-test, Wilcoxon test were used to analyze the data. Results: After the program, cognitive function, depression, and quality of life were significantly better in the experimental group than in the control group. Conclusion: The group art therapy can be utilized in community-based nursing practices by identifying and registering those who are at high risk for dementia. The results should prove useful when designing future intervention strategies targeting elderly individuals residing in communities.

• 한국노년학
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.743-757
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• 2010

Theory of mind (ToM) is the ability to infer one's own and other people's mental states such as beliefs, desires, and intentions. Although the majority of research in ToM has focused on young children or autistic individuals, several studies have investigated ToM in normal old age and in the demented elderly. This article provides an overview on existent findings of theory of mind in aging populations and suggests future directions for research including applying neuroimaging techniques and real-life tasks. It is still unclear how ToM in aging is associated with other aspects of cognition. However, it is expected that ToM perspective on aging will increase our understanding of aging of cognition and social functioning.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.141-147
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• 2011

Objectives The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship between the severity of white matter changes (WMC), risk factors and cognitive domains, including executive function profiles. Method Forty nine subjects over 55 years with subjective memory complaints were assessed with MRI and neuropsychological tests. The WMC were assessed by MRI T2-FLAIR images and divided into 3 groups of mild vs. moderate vs. severe and 2 groups of mild-moderate vs. severe by using Mantyla's criteria and Fazeka's criteria. The risk factors were examined in hypertension, heart disease history and chemistry Lab. Medical conditions which affect to cognitive dysfunction and definite dementia were also excluded. Results Comparing 3 groups, hypertension was identified as a risk factor of the WMC. Comparing 2 groups, total cholesterol and LDL were identified for as the risk factor of WMC. The severity of WMC was significantly associated with cognitive disturbances and their main effect on cognition was working memory and inhibition. Conclusion The risk factors of the WMC in the elderly were hypertension, hyperlipidemia. The severity of WMC appears to be associated with executive dysfunction in the elderly.