• 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 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.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.12
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• pp.178-185
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• 2018

A self-report evaluation is used to prevent driving accidents by elderly drivers. The majority of normal older adults may have mild cognitive impairment with reduced cognitive function. These depressed cognitive functions may be variables that affect the performance of elderly drivers. This study confirmed the cognitive functions that affect the self-reported evaluation for elderly drivers with mild cognitive impairment. Based on the results of the Korean Version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, 103 elderly drivers were classified into mild cognitive impairment and normal groups of elderly drivers. The Korean-Drivers 65 plus scores used in the self-reported evaluation of the two groups were compared, and the cognitive functions affecting the evaluation were analyzed. Results found the mild cognitive impairment group showed a significantly lower evaluation performance compared to the normal group, and the self-reported evaluation results of the elderly driver with mild cognitive impairment showed a significant correlation between visuoconstructional skills and delayed recall. As a result of regression analysis, the visuoconstructional skill was identified as the cognitive function with the strongest influence on the self-reported evaluation performance. Delayed recall was also found to have a partial effect but not at the level of altering the self-reported evaluation results of the elderly driver with mild cognitive impairment.

• 한국노년학
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.71-87
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• 2009

The purpose of this study were to identify factors of successful aging and to suggest a successful aging model of elderly using Rowe & Kahn's model of successful aging. The components of the factors consisted of healthful status, physical·cognitive functions, psychosocial characteristics and productive activities. Data were collected from 2,958 elderly who has spouse and aged 65 above in KOSA Panel. Data were analyzed by Amos program 7.0 version. The statistical techniques were used descriptive statistics χ² and covariance structural analysis. Major findings of this study were as follows; Healthful status were positively related to increasing effort on physical·cognitive functions as well as psychosocial characteristics. Physical·cognitive functions were positively and directly related to psychosocial characteristics and productive activities. Psychosocial characteristics were positively and directly related to productive activities. Physical·cognitive functions and psychosocial characteristics were increased by receiving a direct and positive effort from healthful status. Productive activities were increased by receiving a direct and positive effort from physical·cognitive functions and psychosocial characteristics. Specific and realistic measures should be prepared for successful aging not only for present elderly but also for the future elderly people. Further research should be continued and encouraged to improve the implications for the successful aging especially in korea.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.313-322
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• 2016

Purpose: This study was conducted to examine the relationship among cognitive function, nutrition screening initiative (NSI) score, and food intake status. Methods: A total of 409 subjects aged over 60 years were recruited from the Yongin dementia prevention and control center. Mini Mental State Examination Dementia Screening (MMSE-DS) method was used to assess the cognitive function of the subjects. Information on health related behaviors and food intake was collected by face to face interview using a structured questionnaire. The questionnaires included the NSI DETERMINE checklist, food intake sheets by 24 hr recall method and by semi-quantified food frequency questionnaire. Results: Subjects were divided into low cognitive or normal groups according to the MMSE-DS result. The prevalence of low cognitive function in the subjects was 25.7%. The low cognitive group exercised less and had higher nutritional health risk than the normal group. The low cognitive group had lower consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acid and higher tendency of thiamin, riboflavin, and iron deficiency. The low cognitive group had less frequency of eating mackerel, pepper, tangerine, and watermelon and higher frequency of eating white rice and cookies than the normal group. Conclusion: The results of this study imply that the cognitive function of elderly is related to exercise behavior, nutritional health risk, and food and nutrient intake status.

• 한국생물공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2005.10a
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• pp.13-27
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• 2005

고령화사회(aging society)에 접어 들자 마자, 세계적으로 유례없이 빠른 속도로 고령사회(aged society)에 우리나라가 다가가고 있다. 이러한 과정에서 과거 노인에 대한 개념을 재정비하고 새로운 고령사회에 대비한 장수문화 창출이 시급하다. 노화란 개념에 대해서도 불가피하고 비가역적인 생체의 변화를 거쳐서 죽음에 이르는 도정이라는 피동적이고 자포자기적인 결정론적 시각을 불식하고, 노화가 생명체의 생존을 위한 적응적 반응성 변화이며, 그러한 변화의 요인이 충분히 제어가 가능한 생체의 변화임을 분명하게 인지하여야 할 것이다. 따라서 기능적 장수(Functional Longevity)라는 새로운 개념을 제안하고, 이러한 기능적 장수를 추구함에 있어서 장수문화와 장수과학의 정립이 시급함을 강조하였다.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.1849-1856
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• 2013

The purpose of this study is to understand differences in cognitive function and the instrumental activities of daily living depending on whether elderly women living alone in Korea have depression and to determine the correlation between variables. The data were collected from April 2011 to April 2012 with a total of 1,426 women interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Based on examining the correlation between variables, a weak inverse correlation was shown between depression and cognitive function(r=-.208, p<.001), between cognitive function and the instrumental activities of daily living(r=-.256, p<.001), and a weak positive correlation was shown between depression and instrumental activities of daily living(r=.222, p<.001). According to these results, We should pay attention to come up with ways to promote and maintain the mental health of elderly women so that depression level can be reduced through the improvement of cognitive function and social activity level.

• The Korean Journal of Rehabilitation Nursing
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.5-11
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• 2007

Purpose: This study was conducted to compare the level of cognitive and physical function by the level of social disengagement in institutions and community dwelling elderly. Method: The study subjects were 209 people whose age ranged from 65 to 94. The data were surveyed with social disengagement index, MMSE-K, and ADL, and analysed by SPSS 11.0 using frequency, t-test, ANCOVA and ANOVA. Results: 1) The level of social disengagement was 1.67 in institution and 3.25 in community elderly, and showed statistically significant difference (F=41.07, p<.001). 2) There were statistically significant difference in MMSE-K (F=15.51, p<.000), and activity of daily living (F=9.65, p=.002) between two residence after control the age, gender, religion, allowance and number of children. 3) There were statistically significant difference in MMSE-K (F=6.55, p=.002) by social disengagement in community dwelling elderly. Conclusions: Programs for successful aging to reduce social disengagement should be developed that stimulate social activities and then improve cognitive function for the elderly. For these, establishing social policies in nation and local government is needed. Especially, these policies should be conducted among the elderly with low-income living in institutions.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.11 no.8
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• pp.229-236
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• 2020

This study was conducted to identify the influence of the convergent lifestyles of the elderly consisting of physical exercise, smoking, drinking and social participation and the types of social participation on the risk of cognitive decline by using the 6th Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing(KLoSA). Total 4,298 people aged 65 or older were included. Results show that all of lifestyle factors are significantly effected to prevent cognitive decline, social participation was derived as the most important explanatory variable to lower the risk of cognitive decline. In addition, participating in the religious groups, ascriptive groups, and expressive groups lowered the risk of cognitive decline. Therefore, active support at the community and policy for improving the convergent lifestyle of the elderly are needed.

• 한국HCI학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2008.02b
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• pp.651-655
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• 2008

It provides a three-dimensional virtual experience consisting of information presented to and perceived by the senses of the user. Recently, the advent of a virtual avatar, which mimics the appearance and behavior of humans, enable that the virtual reality (VR) can provide not only a virtual space but also a virtual society to be interact with a virtual avatar which represents humans. But, it is impossible that the user directly interacts with the VE in previous studies, though direct interactions occur in real social relationship. Therefore, In this study, we know that the cognition about a avatar when the user directly interacts with the virtual avatar in the VE. In order to investigate this purpose, we performed a fMRI study using VE that a avatar accept or reject the user's offer when the user offer his (or her) hand to a avatar. In result of questionnaire about the user's feeling by avatar's action, the user feels about avatar's acceptance action that the avatar acts positively and suitably. In contrast the user feels about avatar's rejective action that the avatar acts negatively and disapprovingly. In result of fMRI analysis, the primary visual area, the visual association area, the SMA, the premotor area, the cerebellum and etc, activate in common with the other avatar's acceptance action and rejective action. The results show that the subject recognizes not only avatars as social objects but also avatar's action as socially meaningful action. In other words, it is possible to transfer social context and emotion through avatar's action.