• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.321-327
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• 2013

Impaired naming difficulty is common in normal elderly as well as in patients with neurological impairment. The 60-item Korean version-Boston Naming Test(K-BNT) is one of the most commonly used test for measuring confrontational naming ability. However, age-related cognitive decline may make the elderly difficult concentrating during the 60-item test, therefore, item reduction of the K-BNT would improve test validity and reliability. Thus, the purpose of this study was to develop a short form of the K-BNT based on Item Response Theory(IRT). Considering item-fit index, sex factor, and item difficulty through Rasch analysis, the 15-item K-BNT(i.e., K-BNT-15) was developed. Via administration of the K-BNT-15, we observed age-related decline in naming ability and significantly different performance between the normal elderly and patients with mild cognitive impairment. This study demonstrates the utility of IRT for developing a short-form language evaluation tool. The K-BNT-15 can be effective as a language screening tool to differentiate between normal aging and pathological diseases.

• Speech Sciences
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.75-86
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• 2001

This study explored the effectiveness of a hierarchical treatment of aphasic perseveration (TAP) program in a Korean client with transcortical sensory aphasia. The subject with 52% perserveration score (Korean version of Boston Naming Test : K-BNT) was 44 year-old female with MCA (Middle cerebral artery) infarction. The experimental design used was an alternating treatment design with the hierarchical TAP and conventional audio-visual stimulation. The frequency of occurrence of perseverative behaviors and correct response in naming performance were analyzed and compared. It was claimed that the hierarchical TAP was more effective in naming performance than conventional audio-visual stimulation in terms of correct naming response. The frequency of occurrence of perseverative behaviors was lower in hierarchical TAP but the difference was relatively small. Unlike in English, sentence completion task was no longer stimulable while unison speech was very stimulable among the specific strategies of TAP program in Korean. Therefore, it could be said that TAP is language-dependent.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.137-142
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• 2012

The aim of this study is to investigate the usefulness of the multiple-choice name matching test (MC-NMT) in adults with aphasia by comparing the Korean version of the Boston Naming Test (K-BNT) and subsets of the Korean version of the Western Aphasia Battery (K-WAB). Thirty-nine patients who suffer from aphasia participated in the study. All patients were examined by the K-BNT, MC-NMT and K-WAB. The MC-NMT consisted of the 30 original BNT object stimuli which were presented with four response choices (written words) with similar frequency, including one correct and three incorrect responses. Cards containing the drawings were presented to the patient one at time. An item was passed if the patient chose the correct response within 10 seconds. We subdivided two groups into a total group and a low K-BNT group (at and below 15 points). We evaluated the correlation between the K-BNT, MC-NMT score and production, naming, repetition, comprehension, reading and writing scores in subsets of the K-WAB. There was a highly positive correlation between the K-BNT score and naming score of the K-WAB in total patients. However, the MC-NMT was highly correlated with reading scores in the K-WAB. In low score K-BNT patients, the K-BNT strongly correlated with production, naming and repetition scores of the K-WAB. These findings mean that K-BNT reflects motor language function. However, the MC-NMT was strong correlated comprehension, reading and writing of the K-WAB. This finding reflects sensory language function. We suggest that the combination of K-BNT and newly developed MC-NMT will be useful to evaluate speech functions in aphasic patients.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.1105-1115
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• 2018

Objectives: The aim of this review is to investigate clinical studies on Oriental medicine treatment for aphasia after cerebrovascular disease. Methods: Using the keywords 'Aphasia', 'Oriental medicine', 'Stroke' 'Cerebral infarction', 'Cerebral hemorrhage', and 'Clinic', we searched domestic databases, including "NDSL (National Discovery for Science Leaders)", "Korean Traditional Knowledge Portal", "OASIS (Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System)", and "RISS (Research Information Sharing Service)". Each keyword was not searched individually, but combined in various ways. To investigate recent trends, we limited our search to papers published after 2000. Papers that did not include a specific treatment method or did not match the subject "Aphasia after stroke" were excluded. Results: Using the searching method, 13 studies were found. Of these, 12 studies were in the form of case reports, while one was in the form of a non-randomized controlled trial. These studies showed positive results for the use of Oriental medicine in terms of the Korean version of the Western Aphasia Battery (K-WAB), the evaluation form on functional performance capability and accuracy of articulatory organs developed by Lee, aphasia screening test refered in 'Assessment in Speech-Language Pathology' and adapted properly to Korean, the Communicative Ability in Daily Living Test (CADLT), the Korean Version-Boston Naming Test (K-BNT), and language assessment items included in CNS, and NIHSS. Conclusions: Of the 12 case reports, 11 studies showed positive results of the use of Oriental medicine for treatment of aphasia after cerebrovascular disease. However, more sophisticated and large-scale clinical research on aphasia should be conducted.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.306-314
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• 2022

Background: Due to the rapid aging of the South Korean population, neurological diseases such as dementia are increasing. Many studies have reported that the incidence of dementia is associated with environmental factors along with age. Objectives: This study analyzed the association between cognitive function and ten heavy metals in the body: arsenic, aluminum, chromium, manganese, cobalt, nickel, iron, copper, zinc, and lead. Methods: From 2018 to 2019, a total of 120 participants who suffered from cognitive impairment were recruited for this study. Blood and urine samples were collected and analyzed for heavy metal concentrations using an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer. Demographic information was obtained through face-to-face questionnaires completed by a trained investigator. Cognitive function was evaluated with the Korean version of the Mini-Mental State Examination and the Korean version of the Boston Name Waiting Test. The associations between cognitive function scores and heavy metal concentrations were analyzed using multiple logistic regression analysis. Results: The average age of the 120 participants was 72.7 years, and 69.2% were female. The mean of the MMSE-K and K-BNT scores were 22.9 and 37.9, respectively. The geometric mean of aluminum (Al) was 8.42 ㎍/L. MMSE-K was associated with iron (Fe), but the significance was removed in the logistic regression based on 24 points. K-BNT was significantly associated with aluminum and the odds ratio for K-BNT above 38 decreased by 45% as the aluminum concentration increased. Conclusions: The association between aluminum and the K-BNT score indicated that aluminum is associated with language-related cognitive decline. Based on this result, further study will be conducted by considering co-exposure effects of heavy metals including aluminum.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.155-163
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• 2019

Objectives : The aim of this study was to compare severity, neurocognitive functions, and behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) according to the degree of temporal lobe atrophy (MTA) in Korean patients with dementia due to Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's disease. Methods : Participants were 114 elderly subjects diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or mild cognitive impairment in this cross-sectional study. MTA in brain MRI was rated with standardized visual rating scales (Scheltens scale) and the subjects were divided into two groups according to Scheltens scale. Severity was evaluated with Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) and Global Deterioration Scale (GDS). Neurocognitive functions was evaluated with the Korean version of Short Blessed Test (SBT-K) and the Korean version of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease assessment packet (CERAD-K). BPSD was evaluated with the Korean version of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (K-NPI). Independent t-test was performed to compare severity, neurocognitive functions, and BPSD between two groups. Results : The group with high severity of MTA showed significantly lower scores in CDR, SBT-K, MMSE-KC, modified Boston naming test, word list recognition, and word list memory (p<0.05). There were no differences in K-NPI scores between two groups. Conclusions : Severity and neurocognitive functions of dementia had significant positive association with MTA, but BPSD had no association with MTA. Evaluating MTA seems to have potential benefit in diagnosing and treating neurocognitive impairments in the elderly. Further evaluation is needed to confirm the association between certain brain structures and BPSD.