• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
• /
• v.15 no.6
• /
• pp.333-338
• /
• 2011

Black ginseng (BG) has been widely used as herbal treatment for improving physiological function. In order to investigate the neuroprotective action of this herbal medicine, we examined the influence of BG on the learning and memory of rats using the Morris water maze, and we studied the effects of BG on the central cholinergic system and neural nitric oxide synthesis in the hippocampus of rats with neuronal and cognitive impairment. After middle cerebral artery occlusion was applied for 2h, the rats were administered BG (100 or 400 $mgkg^{-1}$, p.o.) daily for 2 weeks, followed by training and performance of the Morris water maze test. The rats with ischemic insults showed impaired learning and memory on the tasks. Treatment with BG produced improvement in the escape latency to find the platform. Further, the BG groups showed a reduced loss of cholinergic immunoreactivity and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-diaphorase (NADPH-d)-positive neurons in the hippocampus compared to that of the ISC group. These results demonstrated that BG has a protective effect against ischemia-induced neuronal and cognitive impairment. Our results suggest that BG might be useful for the treatment of vascular dementia.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
• /
• v.34 no.2
• /
• pp.81-87
• /
• 2020

Cognitive impairment is symptoms of dementia, a degenerative brain disease that is drawing attention in a rapidly aging society. This study was conducted to investigate the improvement of cognitive function of Leonurus japonicus on scopolamine-induced memory impairment in mice and the effect and mechanism of memory recovery. In vivo studies were conducted on mice orally pretreated with L. japonicus in doses of 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg (p.o.) and scopolamine (1 mg/kg, i.p.) were injected 30 min before the behavioral task. Antioxidant activity was assessed by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) assay and 2,2-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) assay, and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition activity evaluated by Ellman's method. In behavior studies showed that L. japonicus has an improved the memory of scopolamine-treated mice in Y-maze, passive avoidance and Morris water maze test. In addition, L. japonicus was also exerted free radical scavenging activity and inhibited acetyl cholinesterase activity. These results suggest that L. japonicus improves short-term and long-term memory in scopolamine-induced memory decline model and prevents scopolamine-induced memory impairments through in reduced oxidative stress and acetyl cholinesterase inhibition effect. Thus, L. japonicus is related to functional medicinal materials for prevention and treatment of human dementia patients.

• Animal cells and systems
• /
• v.16 no.4
• /
• pp.302-312
• /
• 2012

The purpose of this study was to examine whether Phellodendri Cortex extract (PCE) could improve learning and memory impairments caused by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation in the rat brain. The effect of PCE on modulating pro-inflammatory mediators in the hippocampus and its underlying mechanism were investigated. Injection of LPS into the lateral ventricle caused acute regional inflammation and subsequent deficits in spatial learning ability in the rats. Daily administration of PCE (50, 100, and 200 mg/kg, i.p.) for 21 days markedly improved the LPS-induced learning and memory disabilities in the Morris water maze and passive avoidance test. PCE administration significantly decreased the expression of pro-inflammatory mediators such as tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$, interleukin-$1{\beta}$, and cyclooxygenase-2 mRNA in the hippocampus, as assessed by RT-PCR analysis and immunohistochemistry. Together, these findings suggest that PCE significantly attenuated LPS-induced spatial cognitive impairment through inhibiting the expression of pro-inflammatory mediators in the rat brain. These results suggested that PCE may be effective in preventing or slowing the development of neurological disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, by improving cognitive and memory function because of its anti-inflammation activity in the brain.

• Korean Journal of Exercise Nutrition
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.93-100
• /
• 2012

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia in adults. Microtubule associated protein tau is abnormally phosphorylated in AD and aggregates as paired helical filaments (PHFs) in neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs). NFTs are the most common intraneuronal inclusion in the brains of patients with AD and have been implicated in mediating neuronal cell death and cognitive deficit. Aberrant phosphorylation of tau is an early pathological event in AD, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. MAP kinases are a family of Serine/Threonine (Ser/Thr) kinases that involved hyper - phosphorylation of tau in AD. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of treadmill exercise on phosphorylation of tau level and activation of MAPKs including JNK, ERK, p38-MAPK. To address this, Tg mouse model of AD, Tg-NSE/hTau 23, which expresses human tau 23 in the brain, was chosen. Animals were subjected to treadmill exercise for 12 weeks from 24 months of age. Treadmill exercise in Tg group improved cognitive function compared with Tg-SED group in watermaze test. In addition, treadmill exercised Tg mice significantly reduced the activation of JNK54/46, p38-MAPK and tau (Ser404, Ser202, Thr231), and increased activation of ERK44/42 in cerebral cortex. These results suggest that treadmill exercise may provide a therapeutic potential to alleviate the tau pathology like AD.

• 한국노년학
• /
• v.28 no.4
• /
• pp.1279-1295
• /
• 2008

This study was done to find out the effects that group art therapy would have on low rank cognitive functions and the self-esteem of the elderly with dementia. The study subjects were four elderly females with light dementia symptoms who scored lower than 19 points on the MMSE-K(Mini Mental State Examination-Korea) test. They were chosen from the ${\bigcirc}{\bigcirc}$ Senior Welfare Service Center located in Seoul. A total of 15 sessions of a group art therapy were given once a week for 60 minutes from January 15th to April 30th of 2008, the research tools employed were the MMSE-K and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale on which a pre-test and a post-test were given. The results obtained are as follows. First, it was shown that group art therapy is effective to improve the cognitive functions of the elderly with dementia. According to the pre-tests and post -tests based on MMSE-K, the average score improved from 16.75 to 19.75, using Wilcoxon non-parameter statistics, verification resultant p-value which significant difference exhibited as .046, from the pre-tests and post-test, the average score improved in the subordinate areas of Orientation, Registration, Attention and Calculation, language function, understanding and judgment but there was no significant difference, memory recollection improved by a score of 0.70 according to the pre-test and post-test. using Wilcoxon non-parameter statistics, the verification resultant p-value which significant difference exhibited as .043. Second, it appeared with the fact that group art therapy effects the Self-Esteem of the elderly with dementia. From the verifications of a pre-test and post-test on Self-Esteem, the average score improved from 20.75 to 24.25, the effectiveness of the program was given proven by statistically considering the statistical resultant p-value of .048.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.279-286
• /
• 2016

Recently, with the population growth of elderly people, concerns about oral health related to the quality of life of the elderly are increasing. The purpose of this study is to assess the association between the elderly women divided into dementia, suspected dementia, healthy groups and the remaining teeth of them. Total 177 elderly women of over 60 years old, visiting on senior center in some community dwelling, were assessed for oral condition and their cognitive function with MMSE score. All the collected data were analyzed by chi-square test, t-test, and multiful logistic regression using SPSS. Multiful logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship of dementia according to MMSE score and remaining teeth, and 95% confidence intervals were computed. Odds ratio(OR) of the number of remaining teeth 0-10 was 3.43 (95% confidence interval: 1.382-8.997). This study showed significant difference and the relationship between dementia according to MMSE score and the number of remaining teeth of the elderly women.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Sensory Integration
• /
• v.16 no.3
• /
• pp.23-33
• /
• 2018

Objective : The purpose of this study is to investigate trend in use of occupational therapy assessment tools used by pediatric occupational therapist. Methods : Survey questionnaire developed for this study were used to for data collection. The questionnaires are divided into 10 area: occupational performance, activities of daily living, education, play, sensory-perceptual, motor and praxis, cognition, social interaction skills, development, and physical examination. Total 105 responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics analysis and frequency analysis. Results : For the general process of evaluation in pediatric occupational therapy, major response on the initial evaluation time was 30~60minutes (41.9%), and major response on the re-evaluation period was 3~6months (41.0%). The major assessment tool for each area Canadian Occupation Performance Measure (55.2%) for occupational performance assessments, Wee Functional Independence Measure (57.1%) for activities of daily living assessments, School Function Assessment (2.5%) for education assessments, Knox Preschool Play Scale (28.6%) for play assessments, Developmental Test of Visual Perception (94.3%) for sensory-perceptual assessments, Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (42.9%) for motor and praxis assessments, Evaluation of Social Interaction (6.1%) for social interaction skills assessments, Denver Developmental Screening Test (92.4%) for development assessments, Clinical Observation (89.5%) for physical examination assessments. Conclusion : The study identified the most assessment tools used for specific area by pediatric occupational therapists. The results can be used as a basic data to educate about pediatric occupational therapy evaluation, as well as to develop new assessment tools in pediatric setting in future.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.131-140
• /
• 2006

Objectives : This study was conducted to investigate the deficits of executive function in children with ADHD, Asperger's Disorder(AD), and teaming disorder (LD), and to identify the differential characteristics of executive function deficits among three groups. Methods : The clinical group consisted of 46 children between the ages of 7 and 15 (16 ADHD, 16 LD, 14 AD). Neuropsychological tests for measuring cognitive function, attention and executive function were individually administered to children, and their performance scores were calculated based on the age norm for each test. Results : There was no significant difference in FSIQ, VIQ, and PIQ among the three groups. However, the AD group tended to show higher scores on the subtests of Information, Vocabulary and Digit Span, and lower score on Comprehension subtest than the ADHD and LD groups, while the LD group tended to show the lowest scores on the Information and Vocabulary subtests. On ADS, the ADHD group showed the highest omission and commission errors. All groups showed poor performances belonging to below 25 percentile ranks on executive function tests when compared to the age norms of normative group. The number of completed category on WCST was the smallest in the ADHD group, while the working memory score was the lowest in the LD group. Conclusion : These results suggest that ADHD, LD, and AD children have executive function deficit in common. However, the specific deficit areas in executive function are different for each group.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.36-42
• /
• 2016

Purpose: Stress activates the sympathetic nervous system and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and induces the release of glucocorticoids. Saccharin is 300 times sweeter than sucrose, but does not increase blood insulin levels. Thus, this study was designed to evaluate the effect of saccharin intake in restraint-induced stress response reduction in rats. Methods: Adult male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats had stress induced by restraint for 2 hours/day for 1 week. Saccharin was provided in sufficient amounts to allow them to intake it voluntarily at 0.1% diluted in water. The Y-maze test and forced swim test (FST) were performed to evaluate cognitive function and the depressive behavior of the rats. The protein expression of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) in hippocampal cornu ammonis (CA) 1 was investigated by using immunohistochemistry. Results: It was found that, the percentage of alternation in the Y-maze test was significantly (p<.01) higher in the Stress + saccharin group than in the Stress group. Immobility time in the FST was significantly (p<.01) lower in the Stress + saccharin group than in the Stress group. Also, the positive cells of GR in hippocampus CA1 were significantly (p<.05) lower in the Stress + saccharin group than in the Stress group. Conclusion: This study showed that there was an effect of saccharin intake in restraint-induced stress response reduction in rats.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
• /
• v.20 no.2
• /
• pp.126-132
• /
• 2015

This study investigated the anti-amnesic effect of fermented Ganoderma lucidum water extracts (GW) on scopolamine- induced memory impairment in rats. GW were fermented by the lactic acid bacterium Bifidobacterium bifidum (FGWB), followed by Lactobacillus sakei LI033 (FGWBL). To induce amnesia, scopolamine (1 mg/kg) was intraperitoneally injected into rats 30 min before the behavioral tests. Step-through latencies of rats treated with primary fermented extracts (300 mg/kg, FGWB) and secondary fermented extracts (300 mg/kg, FGWBL) were significantly longer than those of rats treated with GW (300 mg/kg) in the retention trial of the multiple trial passive avoidance test. In the Morris water maze task, FGWBL significantly shortened escape latencies in training trials. Furthermore, swimming times within the target zone during the probe trial with FGWBL were significantly higher than the GW and FGWB treatments. In addition, acetylcholinesterase activities were lower in the brains of scopolamine-treated rats treated with FGWBL. These results suggest that FGWBL could be useful to enhance learning memory and cognitive function via cholinergic dysfunction.