• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.77-85
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• 2022

Purpose: Aging process comes with cognitive impairment due to decreased neuronal cell number, activity, and neuronal circuit. Alteration of inhibitory neurons contributes to cognitive impairment in normal aging and is responsible for disrupting the excitation/inhibition balance by reducing the synthesis of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Morus nigra (Mulberry) is a natural physiologically active substance that has been proven to have anti-oxidant, anti-diabetic, and anti-inflammatory effects through many studies. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the mulberry extract (ME) on cognitive function through anti-oxidant enzyme and GABAergic neuronal activity in aged rat brain. Methods: Sprague Dawley rats were randomly assigned as the young group (8 weeks, n= 8), aging group (67 weeks, n= 8), and aging+ mulberry extract group (67 weeks, n= 8). The aging+ mulberry extract group was orally administered 500 mg/kg/d mulberry extract for 6 weeks. Results: The aging+ mulberry extract group improved spatial and short-term memory. The antioxidant potential of ME increased the expression of superoxide dismutase-1 (SOD-1) and decreased inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). Also, the aging+ mulberry extract group significantly increased the expression of GABAergic interneuron in hippocampus cornu ammonis1 (CA1) compared to the aging group. Conclusion: The number of GABAergic inhibitory interneurons was deceased and memory functions in the aging process, but those symptoms were improved and restored by mulberry extract administration.

• 한국노년학
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.751-763
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• 2016

In this article, we conducted a literature review about cognitive aging and social-psychological factors that influence cognitive function in old age. As getting older, cognitive function was mostly seen as declining, even though the effect of aging is differential across domains of cognitive ability. The negative view about cognitive aging might be reflecting social-psychological factors such as age stereotypes. Age stereotypes vary among different cultures, but appear to be negative in general. Negative age stereotypes are related to lower level of memory performances. Older adults who were experimentally presented with positive age stereotypes exhibited better memory performances than those with negative age stereotypes. Self-referent belief, appraisals of one's own cognitive abilities, could also affect actual performance in cognitive tasks. Older adults showed lower self-referent belief than younger adults, and it might explain memory decline in old age. Theoretical explanation and implication about the relationship between social-psychological factors and cognitive abilities were discussed.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.261-266
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• 2009

Objectives : The aim of this study is to examine the cognitive function change related to aging, the incidence of cognitive impairment, and the association between apolipoprotein E polymorphism and cognitive impairment through a follow-up of the elderly with normal cognitive ability at baseline. Methods : Two hundred and fifteen subjects aged 65 and over were surveyed in February, 1998 (baseline survey), and their cognitive function was assessed again in 2003 1st follow-up) and the once again in 2006 (2nd follow-up). Ninety one subjects completed all surveys up through the 2nd follow-up and their cognitive function scores using MMSE-K (Korean Version of the Mini-Mental State Examination) and the distribution of apolipoprotein E allele were analyzed. Results : The cognitive function scores decreased with aging and the difference between baseline and the 2nd follow-up scores of the study increased with the age group. The incidence rate of cognitive impairment through an 8-year follow-up was 38.5% and higher in older age groups. Age was the only significant factor for incidence of cognitive impairment, but there was no significant association between apolipoprotein E genotype and incidence of cognitive impairment. Conclusions : The cognition of the elderly decreased with aging and the association of apolipoprotein E genotype with incidence of cognitive impairment was not significant in this study. To confirm the association between apolipoprotein E polymorphism and incidence of cognitive impairment further studies will be needed.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.15 no.11
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• pp.359-373
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• 2015

Cognitive reserve(CR) is the ability to optimize or maximize performance through complementary brain networks. CR is relevant to normal aging in cognitive-linguistic abilities. There are few domestic systematic reviews or meta-analyses that analyze the relationships between multiple CR and cognitive-linguistic domains in healthy older people. This meta-analysis included 32 studies published since 2000. In result, education level topped the list, followed by the occupation, cognitively stimulating activities, and the multilingualism. Most studies were related to memory, global cognition, and language. CR had a modest positive association with cognitive-linguistic performance. Multiple domains including memory and language also showed the significant correlations across most measures of CR. This study provides evidence-based information to support cognitive-linguistic ability in normal aging.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.36-48
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• 1997

This survey was performed to evaluate and compare cognitive function, self-esteem and depression in the elderly related to aging. The data were collected from 200 elders in eight homes for the elderly in Taegu. Data collection was done from June 1 to 31, 1996. The scale used to measure cognitive function was the MMSE-K(Mini-Mental State Examination-Korea), Self-esteem was measmed using Rosenberg's self-esteem scale and depression using SDS(Self-rating Depression Scale). A comparison of cognitive function, self-esteem and depression by aging were summarised as follows : 1. There were significant differences on the cognitive function score in the elderly according to age group(F=24.81, P<.01). 2. There were significant differences on the self-esteem score in the elderly according to age group(F=3.84, P<.5). 3. There were significant differences on the depression score in the elderly according to age group (F=5.90, P<.1). 4. The general characteristics which affected the cognitive function scores of the elders were sex (F=8.45, P<.5), educational level(F=8.86, P<.5), spousing(F=34.59. P<.01), and the perception of health(F=4.63, P<.5). 5. The general characteristic which affected the self-esteem scores of the elders was the perception of health(F=3.81. P<.5). 6. The general characteristic which affected the depression scores was the educational level(F=3.96, P<.5).

• Korean Journal of Cognitive Science
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.1-24
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• 2013

The elderly population continues to increase in Korea and there has been a growing interest in understanding normal aging. In response to this public interest, the present paper reviewed human aging research focusing on recently published neuroimaging studies. For the first half of the paper, I reviewed the effects of aging on the brain and cognition. In normal aging, structural changes in the brain include atrophy and volume reduction in the prefrontal and temporal cortices. Functional changes are exhibited in the form of overactivation of the brain. Moreover, age-related cognitive decline is particularly observed in inhibition and memory, which are also associated with the age-related structural changes in the brain. For the second half of the paper, I introduced physical exercise studies showing that exercise played a protective role in the age-related neurocognitive decline. More specifically, engaging in physical exercise (particularly, aerobic exercise) for a relatively long period of time (e. g., > 6 mon.) protected older adults from volume loss in the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus, and induced better inhibition and memory. These exercise-induced benefits appear to be associated with changes in neuronal levels, indicating that the aging brain is still plastic and this plasticity can be enhanced by physical exercise.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.280-292
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• 2012

Cognitive-pragmatic language ability decreases during the normal aging process. Evaluating the ability might be useful in testing predicting cognitive level and diseases such as dementia. The aim of this study is to analyze various assessment protocols for normal aging, and evaluate the content validity of the currently developing cognitive-pragmatic language test domains and items. Content Validity Index(CVI) was calculated based on ratings judged by 17 experts including speech-language pathologists and clinical psychologists. As a result, it was found that CVIs of all 7 domains including attention, memory, organization, reasoning, problem solving, executive function, pragmatic language were above .75. It was concluded that the test items contained the appropriate content validity to assess cognitive-pragmatic language for normal aging.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.128-138
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• 2005

Purpose: As population of elderly people continues to grow, successful aging has risen to the top of the nursing science agenda. The successful aging includes maintenance of the cognitive and physical functions, as well as emotional well-beings. This study was carried out to evaluate effects of the environmental enrichments on cognition of institutionalized elderly. Method: The population was selected among the elderly aging over 65 residing at two of institutions. A quasi experimental design was used with non-equivalent control group. Study subjects were thirteen for each group. For the experimental group, physical, social and symbolic environmental enrichment program was provided for six weeks. The data were analyzed by repeated measure ANOVA and repeated measure ANCOVA using SPSS Win 11.0. Result: Compared to control group, the experimental group showed a significant difference on DSF(F=3.29, p=.046), and TMTA(F=4.76, p=.013) of cognitive function, and depression (F=5.56, p=.007) of emotional distress after 1 and 12 weeks of environmental enrichment program. Conclusion: Findings indicate that physical, social, and symbolic environmental enrichment was effective to partially prevent from cognitive decline, and to decrease emotional distress of elderly. As a nursing intervention, environmental enrichment program for elderly should be expanded for nursing practice to promote healthy aging and to offer support to the growing population of elderly. Further research should be conducted to evaluate the effect on the community elderly.

• The Journal of the Korea institute of electronic communication sciences
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.1363-1370
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• 2023

Globally, the elderly population is increasing, making the primary concern of modern society the healthy aging and welfare and medical facilities for the elderly. However, many seniors experience cognitive decline due to aging, making cognitive activities crucial for them. In this context, a study has developed a cognitive activity support system for the elderly using the metaverse. To achieve this, the characteristics and needs of the elderly were analyzed to design an interface in the metaverse that they can easily use. Additionally, the type and difficulty of cognitive activities were adjusted to engage seniors in a captivating manner. Experimental results showed that the proposed system effectively enhances the cognitive abilities of the elderly. Thus, the personalized metaverse-based cognitive activity support system proposed in this study can be a valuable tool for improving the cognitive abilities of the elderly.

• International journal of advanced smart convergence
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.159-166
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• 2023

Due to the aging workforce in the construction industry in South Korea, the accident rate has been increasing. The cognitive abilities of older workers are closely related to both safety incidents and labor productivity. Therefore, there is a need to improve cognitive abilities through personalized training based on cognitive assessment results, using cognitive training content, in order to enable safe performance in labor-intensive environments. The provided cognitive training content includes concentration, memory, oreintation, attention, and executive functions. Difficulty levels were applied to each content to enhance user engagement and interest. To stimulate interest and encourage active participation of the participants, the difficulty level was automatically adjusted based on feedback from the MMSE-DS results and content measurement data. Based on the accumulated data, individual training scenarios have been set differently to intensively improve insufficient cognitive skills, and cognitive training programs will be developed to reduce safety accidents at construction sites through measured data and research. Through such simple cognitive training, it is expected that the reduction of accidents in the aging construction workforce can lead to a decrease in the social costs associated with prolonged construction periods caused by accidents.