• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.11 no.10
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• pp.1977-1985
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• 2007

The character recognition technique is one of the artificial intelligence and has been widely applied in the automated system robot HCI(Human Computer Interaction), etc. This paper introduces the character set and the representative character that can be used in the recognition of the mage ROI. The character codes in this ROI include the digit, symbol, English and Hereat etc. We proposed the efficient multi-classifier structure by combining the small-size classifiers hierarchically. Moreover, we generated each small-size classifiers by delta-bar-delta learning algorithm. We tested the performance with various kinds of images and achieved the accuracy of 99%. The proposed multi-classifier showed the efficiency and the reliability for the mixed character code set.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.122-132
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• 2005

Objectives: The objective of this study is to assess cognitive functions and their relationship with sleep symptoms in young narcoleptic patients. Methods: Eighteen young narcolepsy patients and 18 normal controls (age: 17-35 years old) were recruited. All narcolepsy patients had HLA $DQB_1$ *0602 allele and cataplexy. Several important areas of cognition were assessed by a battery of neuropsychological tests consisting of 13 tests: executive functions (e.g. cognitive set shifting, inhibition, and selective attention) through Wisconsin card sorting test, Trail Making A/B, Stroop test, Ruff test, Digit Symbol, Controlled Oral Word Association and Boston Naming Test; alertness and sustained attention through paced auditory serial addition test; verbal/nonverbal short-term memory and working memory through Digit Span and Spatial Span; visuospatial memory through Rey-Osterrieth complex figure test; verbal learning and memory through California verbal learning test; and fine motor activity through grooved pegboard test. Sleep symptoms in narcolepsy patients were assessed with Epworth sleepiness scale, Ullanlinna narcolepsy scale, multiple sleep latency test, and nocturnal polysomnography. Relationship between cognitive functions and sleep symptoms in narcolepsy patients was also explored. Results: Compared with normal controls, narcolepsy patients showed poor performance in paced auditory serial addition (2.0 s and 2.4 s), digit symbol tests, and spatial span (forward)(t=3.86, p<0.01; t=-2.47, p=0.02; t=-3.95, p<0.01; t=-2.22, p=0.03, respectively). There were no significant between-group differences in other neuropsychological tests. In addition, results of neuropsychological test in narcolepsy patients were not correlated with Epworth sleepiness scale score, Ullanlinna narcolepsy scale score and sleep variables in multiple sleep latency test or nocturnal polysomnography. Conclusion: The current findings suggest that young narcolepsy patients have impaired attention. In addition, impairment of attention in narcolepsy might not be solely due to sleep symptoms such as excessive daytime sleepiness.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.143-148
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• 1999

Objectives: We studied correlations between neuropsychological tests and perceptual disorder in patients with head trauma and psychiatric patients in order to explore the functional localization of brain in perceptual disorders. Methods: Halstead Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery, Korean Wechsler Intelligent Scale, and Minnesota Multiphasic Peronality Inventory(MMPI) were administered to one hundred ninteen patients consisting of sixty nine psychiatric patients and fifty patients with brain damage. We tested the correlation between results of neuropsychological tests and peceptual disorder scale PDS) made from nine items related with perceptual disorder in MMPI. T-tests between twenty one higher scorers and seventeen lower scorers of PDS were also performed in the psychiatric group. Results: In brain damage group, significant correlations were found in tests related with function of frontal lobe such as category tests, trail making tests, tactual performance test, and fingertip number writing test, and significant correlations were also noted in the tests related with function of right hemisphere such as tactual performance test, performance, picture completion, picture arrangement and block design. Tests related with subcortical function such as digit symbol test, arithmetic and digit span were signigicantly correlated, too. In psychiatric group, there were significant differences of PDS in the tests related with function of right hemisphere such as picture completion, block design, and right laterality index, and in the tests related with function of left hemisphere such as comprehension, vocabulary, and similarities. Conclusion: Perceptual disorder seems to be related with functions of frontal lobe, right hemisphere, and subcortex in both groups. In a psychiatric group, left hemisphere may be also partially related with perceptual disorder.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.173-180
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• 2005

Purpose:We investigated the effect of menopausal duration on cognitive function using adjunctive hormone replacement therapy(HRT) in postmenopausal women with depression. Method:Twelve postmenopausal women with depressive disorder were enrolled. Six patients having menopausal duration of less than 3 years was assigned to the short duration group and six patients of more than 3 years to the long duration group. Each patient was treated with conjugated equine estrogen(1.25mg) plus medroxyprogesterone(5mg) for 8 weeks. Cognitive performance was measured by the Verbal Memory Test, Visual Memory Test, Trail Making Test, Digit Symbol Test, and Attention Shift Test. The Beck Depression Inventory was used for evaluation of depressed mood. The reproductive hormone levels were also measured. Results:The long duration group showed the lower performance only in Trail Making Test B compared with the short duration group at baseline. After 8 weeks, the long duration group performed significantly better in the Trail Making Test B compared with the short duration group. The differences in change of depressive mood and gonadal hormone level between two groups were not significant. Conclusion:Menopausal duration before HRT may influence the effect of estrogen on cognition in some cognitive domains. This might be related with estrogen receptor hypersensitivity which induced by the longer estrogen deficiency.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.195-204
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• 1997

Objectives : The behavioral and physiological effects following low doses and high doses of melatonin have not been fully explored. In this study the authors investigated the nature and extent of the hypnotic effects, oral temperature, blood pressure effects, performance effects and subjective feelings following the acute administration of low pharmacological oral doses of melatonin at mid-day. Methods : Thirty-five healthy young medical students were randomly assigned to receive 6mg of oral melatonin(N=11), 12mg of oral melatonin(N=12) or a placebo(N=12) in a double-blind, placebo controlled trial. Measures of the behavioral and physiological effects used in the study were Stanford Sleepiness Scale, Digit Symbol Substitution Test, Trail test and visual analogue scale for subjective feelings. Oral temperature and blood pressure were measured. The subjects were studied between 10:00 and 16:00 hours. Data were analyzed by using repeated-measures analyses of variance(ANOVA). Results: Melatonin produced statistically significant effects on oral temperature, but there were no significant effects on time and the $dose{\times}time$ interaction. There was a significant difference on oral temperature between the 12mg oral melatonin group and the placebo group at 12:00 and 16:00 hours, but no significant difference between the 12mg and the 6mg oral melatonin groups. Melatonin produced a dose-related increase in subjective sleepiness and had significant effects on time, the $dose{\times}time$ interaction. There was a significant difference on subjective sleepiness among the placebo, 6mg, 12mg oral melatonin groups at 13:00-16:00 hours. Melatonin did not produce statistically significant dose-related effects on subjective fatigue but produced significant effects on time and the $dose{\times}time$ interaction. There was a significant difference on subjective fatigue between the 12mg, the 6mg oral melatonin groups and the placebo group at 13:00 hour. Conclusions : These data indicated that acute administration of melatonin at mid-day increased subjective sleepiness and fatigue but decreased oral temperatures. These effects were shown especially in 12mg oral melatonin group.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.373-380
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of recreational exercise on cognition, depression, dynamic balance and leg strength in elderly women. This study was nonequivalent control group pre-post test design. Subjects were divided into two group(exercise group=14, control group=13). Experimental group conducted recreational exercise program for eight-week. Cognition was assessed by K-WAIS(object assembly & digit symbol) and depression were assessed by questionnaire. Dynamic balance(DB) and leg strength(LS) were assessed by 244cm up & go and sit to stand respectively. The collected data analyzed by Wilcoxon singed rank test and Mann-Whitney U test. The exercise group significantly improved cognition(object assembly) and DB, but control group significantly reduced DB. DB in exercise group were significantly greater than in control group after eight-week. The program was effective on cognition and dynamic balance in elderly women.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.32-40
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• 2020

Objective : The purpose of this study was to investigate the cognitive performance of major depressive disorder (MDD) in military service/conscription personnel who visited the psychiatric clinic for a medical certificate to consider the situation from the perspective of Korea's unique compulsory military system. We used the Korean Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV (K-WAIS-IV) as the test for verifying the suitable level of cognitive functioning for military service and as the embedded measure with reflecting suboptimal effort. Methods : The study was conducted on 56 (28 males, age 19-34) in/out-patients admitted to the psychiatry department and diagnosed with MDD (DSM-IV). All participants completed a structured clinical interview (MINI-Plus), as well as self-report questionnaires related to demographics and severity of clinical symptoms. K-WAIS-IV was administered to each subject to assess cognitive characteristics. Results : Military group showed significantly lower processing speed index (PSI) score including subtests of symbol search (SS) and coding (CD) score, compared to the control group. There was no other significant differences in the Full Scale IQ (FSIQ), Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI), Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI), Working Memory Index (WMI) scores including sub-tests comprised of the above indices, and Reliable Digit Span (RDS), Enhanced-RDS-Revised (E-RDS-R) between the study and control groups. Conclusion : This study was the first effort to verify the characteristics of Korea's military group with MDD and suggest the applicability of PSI and processing speed of K-WAIS-IV as an embedded performance index to test sub-optimal effort or low motivation beyond the purpose of testing cognitive deficits.

• Annals of Rehabilitation Medicine
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.924-934
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• 2017

Objective To investigate the anatomical correlates of the neuropsychological deficits in patients with the cerebellar stroke. Methods We screened patients who were admitted to the National Rehabilitation Center with the cerebellar stroke between October 2012 and November 2016. The patients with the cerebellar stroke who underwent neuropsychological testing for which the Seoul Neuropsychological Screening Battery (SNSB) or the SNSB-II were enrolled. The neuropsychological function capacities were compared in accordance with the stroke type (hemorrhagic vs. ischemic) and the location (right/left anterior, right/left posterior intermediate, right/left posterior lateral lobe, and vermis). Mean z-scores were computed to compare the patient performances with the population averages. Results Twenty-six patients (15 with ischemic stroke and 11 with hemorrhagic stroke) with a mean age of $54.8{\pm}16.6$ years were assessed $8.8{\pm}9.2$ months after the stroke. Differences in the neuropsychological functioning according to the stroke type were not observed. All of the numerical subtests of the stroke patients showed significantly poorer performances compared with the population averages (mean z-score <0), and some of the subtests revealed abnormal performances in attention-, visuospatial function-, memory-, and frontal/executive function-related tasks (mean z-score <-1). The patients with the presence of a lesion in the right posterior intermediate lobe of the cerebellum showed a poorer performance in the subtests evaluating the executive function including the Korean-version Stroop Test (p=0.04), the Digit Symbol Coding Test (p=0.01), and the Korean-version Trail Making Test (p=0.02) compared with the patients without that lesion. Conclusion The present study confirms that the cerebellar stroke affects the neuropsychological functioning which is associated with the anatomical site of stroke.

• Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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• v.35
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• pp.23.1-23.14
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• 2023

Background: Exposure to heavy metals is a public health concern worldwide. Previous studies on the association between heavy metal exposure and neurobehavioral functions in children have focused on single exposures and clinical manifestations. However, the present study evaluated the effects of heavy metal complex exposure on subclinical neurobehavioral function using a Korean Computerized Neurobehavior Test (KCNT). Methods: Urinary mercury, lead, cadmium analyses as well as symbol digit substitution (SDS) and choice reaction time (CRT) tests of the KCNT were conducted in children aged between 10 and 12 years. Reaction time and urinary heavy metal levels were analyzed using partial correlation, linear regression, Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR), the weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression and quantile G-computation analysis. Results: Participants of 203 SDS tests and 198 CRT tests were analyzed, excluding poor cooperation and inappropriate urine sample. Partial correlation analysis revealed no association between neurobehavioral function and exposure to individual heavy metals. The result of multiple linear regression shows significant positive association between urinary lead, mercury, and CRT. BMKR, WQS regression and quantile G-computation analysis showed a statistically significant positive association between complex urinary heavy metal concentrations, especially lead and mercury, and reaction time. Conclusions: Assuming complex exposures, urinary heavy metal concentrations showed a statistically significant positive association with CRT. These results suggest that heavy metal complex exposure during childhood should be evaluated and managed strictly.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.176-188
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• 1999

Objective : The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of alcohol on neurocognitive function, psychomotor performance and subjective response in healthy Korean adults with different ALDH2 genotypes. Method : A total of 24 males, half with active $ALDH2^*1/2^*1$ and the other with inactive $ALDH2^*1/2^*2$, was selected through genotyping using restriction fragment length polymorphism. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over design, each subject consumed 0.5g/kg dose of alcohol, given as a mixture of 40% vodka and orange juice, and placebo(orange juice) on two separate occasions on an average of weekly intervals. The blood alcohol concentrations(BACs) were measured using a breath analyzer at baseline and at 30, 60 minutes after drinking. P300s were measured at baseline and at 30 minutes after alcohol and placebo intake. Vital signs and psychomotor performance[Critical Flicker Fusion Threshold(CFFT), Choice Reaction Time (CRT), Digit Symbol Substitution(DSS)] were measured at baseline and at 60 minutes after alcohol and placebo intake. Subjective responses were measured at the end of the study. The statistical analysis focused on whether there were any differences between groups with different ALDH2 genotypes. Results : The major results are as follows. 1) BACs in the inactive group were overall equivalent to those in the active group. Only in terms of time, BACs were significantly higher overall at 30 minutes than at 60 minutes after alcohol intake. 2) Pulse rates were significantly increased after alcohol intake compared with placebo, and the increase was greater in the inactive than in the active group. 3) P300 latencies in leads Fz(frontal), Cz(cental) and Pz(parietal) were significantly increased after alcohol intake compared to placebo, and the increase was greater in the inactive than in the active group. P300 amplitudes in leads Cz and Pz were significantly decreased overall after alcohol intake compared to placebo. 4) Compared with placebo, alcohol produced significant effect on the psychomotor performance : impairment in the inactive group, improvement in the active group. 5) Compared with placebo, alcohol significantly induced a negative or an intense effect on the subjective responses in the inactive group, but little negative and even a somewhat positive effect in the active group. Conclusions : These results suggest that ALDH isozyme variance might be an important factor to determine the effects of acute dose of alcohol on the various psychobehavioural functions and also to determine the alcohol use pattern and to predict the future development of alcohol overuse and/or abuse.