• 대한의용생체공학회:의공학회지
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• 제43권1호
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• pp.52-60
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• 2022

Purpose: For now, cognitive load is assessed based on survey-based methods, which can be difficult to track the amount of cognitive load in real-time. In this study, we investigated the difference in electrophysiological activation due to different levels of cognitive load not only at sensor-level but also at source-level using electroencephalogram that might be potentially used for quantitative cognitive load evaluation. Materials and Methods: In this study, ten healthy subjects (mean age 24.3 ± 2.1, three female) participated the experiment. All participants performed 4 sessions of n-back task in different difficulties: 0-, 1-, 2-, and 3-back during electroencephalogram recording. For sensor-level analysis, we calculated the event-related potential and event-related spectral perturbation while low resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (LORETA) to estimate the source activation. Each result was compared between different workload conditions using statistical analysis. Results: Statistical results revealed that the accuracy of the task performance was significantly different between different cognitive loads (p = 0.018). The post-hoc analysis confirmed that the accuracy of the 3-back task was significantly decreased compared to 1-back condition (p = 0.018), but not with 2-back condition (p = 0.180). ERP results showed that P300 target amplitude between 1-back and 3-back had a marginal difference in Cz (p = 0.059) and Pz(p = 0.093). A significant inhibition in Cz high-beta activation (p = 0.017) and decrease in source activation of right parahippocampal gyrus was found in 3-back condition compared to 1-back condition (p < 0.05). Conclusion: In this study, we compared the sensor- and source-level differences in electroencephalogram between different levels of cognitive load, that were found to be in line with the previous reports related to cognitive load evaluation. We expect that the outcome of the current study can be used as a feature to establish a quantitative cognitive load assessment system.

• Journal of Information Technology Applications and Management
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• 제31권1호
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• pp.177-188
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• 2024

In this research, a cohort of two children, aged 7-8 years, was selected to participate in a specialized three-week training program aimed at enhancing their working memory. The program consisted of three sessions, each lasting approximately 30 minutes. The primary goal was to investigate the impact and developmental trajectory of working memory in school-aged children. Working memory plays a significant role in young children's learning and daily activities. To address the needs of this demographic, products should offer both educational and enjoyable activities that engage working memory. Digital educational tools, known for their flexibility, are suitable for both older individuals and young children. By updating software or modifying content, these tools can be effectively repurposed for young learners without extensive hardware changes, making them both cost-effective and practical. For example, memory training games initially designed for older adults can be adapted for young children by altering images, music, or storylines. Furthermore, incorporating elements familiar to children, like animals, toys, or fairy tales, can increase their engagement in these activities. Historically, working memory capabilities have been assessed predominantly through traditional intelligence tests. However, recent research questions the adequacy of these behavioral measures in accurately detecting changes in working memory. To bridge this gap, the current study utilized electroencephalography (EEG) as a more sophisticated and precise tool for monitoring potential changes in working memory after the training. The research findings were revealing. Participants showed marked improvement in their performance on n-back tasks, a standard measure for evaluating working memory. This improvement post-training strongly supports the effectiveness of the training program. The results indicate that such targeted and structured training programs can significantly enhance the working memory abilities of children in this age group, providing promising implications for educational strategies and cognitive development interventions.

• 감성과학
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• 제22권4호
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• pp.31-44
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• 2019

본 연구의 목적은 노화에 따른 작업기억능력의 저하에 영향을 받는 자막인식위치에 대해 탐구하는 것이다. 이를 위해, 본 연구에는 주니어 집단(평균 나이: 26세, 표준편차: 3.06, N=27)과 시니어 집단(평균 나이: 61.69세, 표준편차: 4.18, N=26)이 참여했으며, 실험 과제로는 실험 참가자들의 작업기억능력을 측정하기 위한 N-back 과제와 자막인식위치를 측정하기 위한 동영상자막확인 과제가 사용되었다. N-back 과제 수행 결과, 시니어 집단이 주니어 집단보다 과제에 대한 반응속도가 느리고 정답률이 낮게 나타나, 시니어 집단은 주니어 집단에 비해 작업기억능력의 저하가 나타났다는 것을 의미했다. 또한, 동영상자막확인 과제 수행 결과, 노화에 따른 작업기억능력의 저하에 부정적인 영향을 받는 자막위치는 화면의 '좌측-아래'이고 긍정적인 영향을 받는 자막위치는 화면의 '좌측-가운데'으로 나타났다. 나머지 화면 위치에서는 노화에 따른 작업기억능력의 저하에 영향을 받지 않았다. 결과적으로 본 연구 결과를 통해서 연령의 증가에 따른 작업기억능력의 저하에 부정적 혹은 긍정적 영향을 받는 영상 속 자막인식위치에 대해서 살펴볼 수 있었으며, 이는 영상에 자막을 제시해야할 경우 시청자의 연령을 고려하여 자막위치를 선정하면 효율적으로 시청자에게 정보를 제공할 수 있다는 것을 의미했다.

• 한국감성과학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국감성과학회 2009년도 춘계학술대회
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• pp.101-104
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• 2009

This study investigated compensatory mechanisms in the brain during a verbal working memory task among people with Alcohol Use Disorders (AUD). A total of 21 college male students participated in the study: eleven AUD participants and 10 normal controls. Study participants were asked to complete the Korean version of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III (K-WAIS-III) prior to the fMRI experiment. Verbal 0-back and 2-back tasks were used to assess brain activities of the participants' verbal working memory. Brain scanning was performed on Siemens SONATA 1.5T Scanner while participants were performing the 0-back and 2-back tasks. Within the AUD group, participants with greater dependency to alcohol (based on DSM-IV criteria) in the past 1 year showed lower mean score on the 'Similarities' of the K-WAIS-III (r=-0.63, p<0.05, N=11). The more participants experienced alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the past 1 year, the lower the score they received on the K-WAIS-III 'Picture Arrangement' (r=-0.69, p<0.05, n=11). The fMRI regression results showed that individuals who present greater degree of alcohol dependency symptoms are likely to show greater brain activation in the bilateral middle frontal gyri (BA 9) during the verbal working memory task. The degree of alcohol withdrawal symptoms were associated with increased brain activation in the left superior and middle frontal gyri (BA8), left precentral gyrus (BA 6), and left inferior parietal lobule (BA 40). The study findings showed that the degree of alcohol abuse/dependence and withdrawal symptoms were associated with decreased cognitive function and increased activations in brain regions particularly important for abstract reasoning (BA 9), central executive (BA 9), or spatial storage (BA 40) during a working memory task. Therefore, these results could support previous studies suggesting that the neural system of people with ADD may adopt a brain compensatory mechanism to maintain normal level of cognitive functions.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• 제8권3호
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• pp.559-564
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• 2013

In this paper a new hybrid forecast method composed of wavelet transform and neural network is proposed to forecast the wind speed more accurately. In the field of wind energy research, accurate forecast of wind speed is a challenging task. This will influence the power system scheduling and the dynamic control of wind turbine. The wind data used here is measured at 15 minute time intervals. The performance is evaluated based on the metrics, namely, mean square error, mean absolute error, sum squared error of the proposed model and compared with the back propagation model. Simulation studies are carried out and it is reported that the proposed model outperforms the compared model based on the metrics used and conclusions were drawn appropriately.

• 대한통합의학회지
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• 제8권2호
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• pp.131-138
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• 2020

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the frequency band pass filter on the P300 event-related potential in the working memory. Methods : The subjects were 20 women in their 20s who applied for participation in the experiment. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were elicited using 3-back tasks for the working memory, and were recorded from Fz, Cz, and Pz scalp electrodes. The high-pass filters were set to 0.01, 0.1, and 0.3 Hz for analysis purposes, and the low-pass filters were set to 30 and 15 Hz. The 3-back task was presented for a total of 100 times, among which 30 times were designated for the target stimulation (a matched number) and 70 times for the non-target stimulation (an unmatched number). The temporal interval between each stimulation was set at 1 second, while each time duration was randomly presented between 2 to 4 seconds. ERP were analyzed for the P300 recorded from Fz, Pz and Cz scalp electrodes. Results : Latency and amplitude had no significant interaction effects in both the high- and low-pass filters. For the main effects, the latency and amplitude of the P300 event-related potential had no significant difference in the high-pass filters, but the latency had a significant difference in the low-pass filter of Fz, and the amplitude had a significant difference in the low-pass filter of Pz. Conclusion : The results of this study showed that the less than 0.3 Hz high filters had no effects on the differences between the latency and amplitude of the P300 event-related potential in the working memory. The 30Hz low-pass filter, however, was found to be useful for recording the P300 event-related potential in the working memory.

• 대한의용생체공학회:의공학회지
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• 제37권1호
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• pp.15-20
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• 2016

Essential tremor is a neurological disorder with a tremor of the arms and hands. It is well known that essential tremor is characterized by the postural tremor and the action tremor. There has been no report on the quantitative difference in the characteristics of two tremor types. The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible difference in tremor characteristics of postural and action tremors. Seventeen patients with essential tremor ($68.9{\pm}7.9years$, 7 men, 10 women) participated in this study. Patients performed the tasks of postural maintenance (arms outstretched) and daily actions (spiral drawing). Three-axes (pitch, roll and yaw) gyro sensors were attached on index finger, back of hand and forearm, from which the segment and the joint angular velocities were calculated. Outcome measure was the tremor amplitude defined as the root-mean-square mean of the vector-sum angular velocity at segments and joints. Two-way ANOVA showed that task and joint had main factor on the tremor amplitude (p < 0.05). Post-hoc analysis revealed that tremor amplitude at the metacarpo-phalangeal joint was not affected by task (p > 0.05). However, tremor amplitude at the wrist joint differed among the tasks (p < 0.05), and it was greater in the action tasks than in postural task. Tremor was greater at finger segments than at hand and forearm and it increased in action tasks. The results of this study would be helpful for the understanding and task-specific treatments of the essential tremor.

• 한국음향학회지
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• 제21권6호
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• pp.543-551
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• 2002

이 논문에서는 20,000 단어급의 대어휘를 대상으로 실시간 연속음성 인식을 수행할 수 있는 탐색 방법을 제안한다. 기본적인 탐색 방법은 토큰 전파 방식의 비터비 (Viterbi) 디코딩 알고리듬을 이용한 1 패스로 구성된다. 언어 모델 네트워크를 도입하여 다양한 언어 모델들을 일관된 탐색 공간으로 구성하도록 하였으며, 프루닝(pruning) 단계에서 살아남은 토큰들로부터 동적으로 탐색 공간을 재구성하였다. 용이한 후처리를 위해 워드그래프 및 N개의 최적 문장을 출력할 수 있도록 비터비 알고리듬을 수정하였다. 이렇게 구성된 디코더는 20,000 단어급 데이터 베이스에 대해 테스트하였으며 인식률 및 RTF측면에서 평가되었다.

• 말소리와 음성과학
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• 제15권3호
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• pp.45-52
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• 2023

Previous studies have established a role for cognitive differences in explaining variability in speech processing across individuals. In the case of perceptual cue weighting in the context of a sound change, studies have produced conflicting results regarding the relationship between executive function and the use of redundant cues. The current study aimed to explore this relationship in acoustic cue weighting during speech production. Forty-one Korean-speaking children read a list of stop-initial words and completed two tests that assess executive function, i.e., Dimensional Change Card Sorting (DCCS) and digit n-back. Voice onset time (VOT) and fundamental frequency (F0) were measured in each word, and analyses were carried out to determine the extent to which children's executive function predicted their use of both informative and less informative cues to the three pairs comprising the Korean three-way stop laryngeal contrast. No evidence was found for a relationship between cognitive ability and acoustic cue weighting in production, which is at odds with previous, albeit conflicting, results for speech perception. While this result may be due to the lack of task demands in the production task used here, it nevertheless expands the empirical ground upon which future work in this area may proceed.

• 한국의학물리학회지:의학물리
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• 제26권2호
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• pp.72-78
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• 2015

유기용제는 현기증, 행동장애, 주의산만, 말초신경증과 같은 신경 독성을 일으키는 물질로 잘 알려져 있다. 그러나, 이러한 신경 독성물질인 유기 용제에 노출된 근로자들이 작업 기억 기능을 수행할 때 인지 부하에 어떻게 영향을 받는지에 관해서 많이 연구가 되어오지 않았다. 따라서, 본 연구에서는 기능적인 자기공명영상을 이용하여 만성적으로 유기용제에 노출된 근로자들이 인지 부하에 따른 작업 기억 기능을 수행할 때 보여지는 신경 변화의 관계를 살펴보았다. 29명의 유기용제에 노출된 근로자들을 대상으로 언어적 작업 기억 기능(1-back and 2-back)을 수행시켰으며 낮은 인지 부하와 높은 인지 부하의 작업 기억 기능을 수행할 때, 인지 부하의 차이에 따라 활성화 되는 뇌 영역의 차이를 구하였다. 1-back의 반응속도가 증가함에 따라 좌측 하위 두정 피질에서의 뇌 활성화가 점점 증가하는 관계를 보였는데, 이러한 증가되는 양상이 더 높은 인지 부하인 2-back에서는 보여지지 않았다. 이를 통해, 인지 부하가 많이 걸릴수록 활성화 되는 뇌 영역이 많아지며, 유기용제에 노출된 근로자들은 어느 정도 낮은 인지 부하가 걸렸을 때는 그만큼의 뇌 활성화가 증가되는데, 높은 인지 부하가 걸리게 되면 더 이상 뇌 활성화가 증가되지 않고 한계에 다다르는 것을 알 수 있었다.