• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.60 no.5
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• pp.353-355
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• 2022

We report a case of an 80-year-old Korean man with chronic cerebral paragonimiasis who presented with progressive memory impairment. He suffered from pulmonary paragonimiasis 60 years ago and has been experiencing epilepsy since the age of 45. He began experiencing memory and cognitive deterioration 3 years ago. He visited the neuropsychiatric department of our hospital to check his symptoms and health from a year ago. Contrast-enhanced brain magnetic resonance imaging study revealed calcifications and cystic lesions encompassing the right temporo-occipital region. Encephalomalatic changes were also observed in the right occipital and temporal areas. The anti-Paragonimus specific IgG antibodies in his serum showed a strong positive response. The neuropsychological test results showed a Global Deterioration Scale of 4 and a Clinical Dementia Rating Scale of 1. The chronic cerebral paragonimiasis lesions in the patient's right temporo-occipital region might induce the dementic change.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.65 no.2
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• pp.315-324
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• 2022

Objective : The aim of this study was to verify the equivalence and effectiveness of the tablet-administered Korean Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (K-RBANS) for the prevention and early detection of dementia. Methods : Data from 88 psychiatry and neurology patient samples were examined to evaluate the equivalence between tablet and paper administrations of the K-RBANS using a non-randomly equivalent group design. We calculated the prediction scores of the tablet-administered K-RBANS based on demographics and covariate-test scores for focal tests using norm samples and tested format effects. In addition, we compared the receiver operating characteristic curves to confirm the effectiveness of the K-RBANS for preventing and detecting dementia. Results : In the analysis of raw scores, line orientation showed a significant difference (t=-2.94, p<0.001), and subtests showed small to large effect sizes (0.04-0.86) between paper- and tablet-administered K-RBANS. To investigate the format effect, we compared the predicted scaled scores of the tablet sample to the scaled scores of the norm sample. Consequently, a small effect size (d≤0.20) was observed in most of the subtests, except word list and story recall, which showed a medium effect size (d=0.21), while picture naming and subtests of delayed memory showed significant differences in the one-sample t-test. In addition, the area under the curve of the total scale index (TSI) (0.827; 95% confidence interval, 0.738-0.916) was higher than that of the five indices, ranging from 0.688 to 0.820. The sensitivity and specificity of TSI were 80% and 76%, respectively. Conclusion : The overall results of this study suggest that the tablet-administered K-RBANS showed significant equivalence to the norm sample, although some subtests showed format effects, and it may be used as a valid tool for the brief screening of patients with neuropsychological disorders in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.104-110
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• 2013

Objectives : The aim of this study was to examine the prospective impact of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) ${\varepsilon}4$ on cognitive performance in the community-dwelling elderly individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Methods : The total number of subjects was 30 (12 men and 18 women) who were diagnosed with AD from a Korean project of "Early Detection of Dementia". People aged 65-85 years were included in the analysis. The eight neuropsychological domains from the Korean version of Consortium to Establish a Registry of Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD-K) were conducted to test subjects. They have been followed at 24-month intervals with the same assessments at each interval. Their cognitive performance at 2 year intervals was compared by the occurrence of the APOE ${\varepsilon}4$. Results : The impact of ${\varepsilon}4$ allele was significant in the Word List Memory Test (WLMT, F = 4.345, df = 1, p = 0.021) and Word List Recall Test (WLRT, F = 5.569, df = 1, p = 0.033). Conclusions : The APOE ${\varepsilon}4$ allele was significantly correlated especially with verbal episodic memory domain in community-dwelling elders diagnosed with AD.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.89-96
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• 1997

This study was designed to determine whether cognitive impairment was evident in patients with SLE. Also, it aimed to examine the association of cognitive impairment with other clinical variables. The subjects consisted of 20 patients with mildly active SLE and 20 healthy controls. Methods : A total of 20 SLE patients and 20 normal controls completed a computerized neuropsychological test battery using Vienna Test System. These included Cognitrone test, Continuous attention test, Corsi block tapping test, Standard progressive matrices. Also, neuro-behavioral cognitive status examination was done. The symptom severity of depression was measured with Beck Depression Inventory, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, and current medications were documented. Disease activity was rated using the SLE diasease activity index (SLEDAI). Results : SLE patients had poorer performance than normal controls on the tests of Cognitrone, attention, nonverbal IQ and memory, independent of age, education, disease activity, steroid use and depression status. Conclusion : Cognitive dysfunction was not uncommon in ambulatory SLE patients as measured by standardized neuropsychological tests. It seemed to occur independently of various clinical variables. These findings would suggest that cognitive dysfunction in SLE may be explained by reflecting subclinical central nervous system(CNS) involvement, rather than coexisting psychological distress due to chronic illness or side effect of medication.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.123-131
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• 2017

Objectives: Executive dysfunction including working memory deficit has been suggested to be one of the major neuropsychological etiologies of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The purpose of this study was to investigate the augmentative effects of Cogmed working memory training on the symptoms and neurocognitive functions in medicated children and adolescents with ADHD. Methods: Twenty-five children with ADHD, aged 7 to 19 years, taking ADHD medication participated in this study. The participants were trained for 5 weeks with a commercially available and computerized working memory program ($Cogmed^{(R)}$) without any changes to their medication. The Korean version of the ADHD Rating Scale, Clinical Global Impression Scale, and Comprehensive Attention Test were administered before training and 4 weeks and 7 months after training, respectively. Results: After completing the training, the clinical symptoms and function, rated by the parents and clinician, were improved. In addition, the level of commission errors was significantly reduced in the selective attention (visual/auditory) task, sustained attention to response task, and flanker task. The untrained visuospatial short-term memory and working memory were also improved. These effects were still observed 7 months after the training. Conclusion: Cogmed working memory training can be a promising training option for the additional improvement of the symptoms and deficits in working memory and response inhibition in medicated children with ADHD.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.976-988
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• 2002

The aim of this study was to examine the memory and attention enhancement effect of YMG-1 and YMG-2, which are modified herbal extracts from Yukmijihwang-tang (YMJ). YMJ, composing six herbal medicine, has been used for restoring the normal functions of the body to consolidate the constitution, nourishing and invigorating the kidney functions for hundreds years in Asian countries. A series of studies reported that YMJ and its components enhance memory retention, protects neuronal cell from reactive oxygen attack and boost immune activities. Recently the microarray analysis suggested that YMG-1 protects neurodegeneration through modulating various neuron specific genes. A total of 55 subjects were divided into three groups according to the treatment of YMG-1 (n=20), YMG-2 (n=20) and control (C; n=15) groups. Before treatments, all of subjects were subjected to the assessments on neuropsychological tests of K-WAIS test, Rey-Kim memory test, and psychophysiological test of Event-Related Potential (ERP) during auditory oddball task and repeated word recognition task. They were repeatedly assessed with the same methods after drug treatment for 6 weeks. Although no significant effect of drug was found in Rey-Kim memory test, a significant interaction (P = .010, P < 0.05) between YMG-2 and C groups was identified in the scores digit span and block design, which are the subscales of K-WAIS. The very similar but marginal interaction (P = .064) between YMG-1 and C groups was found too. In ERP analysis, only YMG-1 group showed decreasing tendency of P300 latency during oddball task while the others tended to increase, and it caused significant interaction between session and group (p= .004). This result implies the enhancement of cognitive function in due to consideration of relationship between P300 latency and the speed of information processing. However, no evidence which could demonstrate the significant drug effect was found in neither amplitude or latency. These results come together suggest that YMG-1, 2 may enhance the attention, resulting in enhancement of memory processing. For elucidating detailed mechanism of YMG on learning and memory, the further studies are necessary.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.130-138
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• 2016

Objectives: The aim of this study was to develop auditory-verbal and visual-spatial memory tasks using smart devices for children aged 8 to 10 years and examine their validity. Methods: One-hundred and fourteen school-aged children were recruited through internet advertising. We developed memory tasks assessing auditory-verbal memory, visual-spatial memory, and working memory, and then examined their construct validity by examining the developmental trend of the children's mean scores with age. In order to examine the concurrent validity of the tasks, we conducted correlation analyses between the children's scores on the newly developed auditory-verbal, visual-spatial memory and working memory tasks and their scores on well-known standardized tests of memory and working memory, including the auditory-verbal memory subtests of the Korean Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery for Children, Korean Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test, digit span and arithmetic subtest of Korean Educational Development Institute Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Revised, and Corsi block test. Results: The memory and working memory scores measured by the newly developed tasks tended to increase with age. Further, there were significant correlations between the scores of the four cognitive tasks and the corresponding scores of the standardized assessment tools. Conclusion: This study revealed promising evidence for the validity of the memory tasks using smart devices, suggesting their utility for school-aged children in research and clinical settings.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.97-107
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• 2013

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate attention, memory and executive function in patients with narcolepsy. Methods: This study included 23 narcoleptic patients whose diagnosis were confirmed by the International Classification of Sleep Disorders(ICSD) at Chonnam National University Hospital Sleep Disorders Clinic or an other hospital in Korea, from 2005 to 2008, as well as 23 normal controls. All participants were given an IQ test for Korean-Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and several neuropsychological function tests (the d2 test for attention function, the Rey Complex Figure Test for nonverbal memory, the Korean-California Verbal Learning Test [K-CVLT] for verbal memory, and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test for executive function). Clinical features of narcoleptic patients, including the frequency of excessive daytime sleepiness, cataplexy, sleep paralysis and hypnagogic hallucination, were investigated by a structured clinical interview administered by a neuropsychiatist. Excessive daytime sleepiness was evaluated by the Epworth sleepiness scale. Results: Characteristic symptoms of narcolepsy observed in this study included excessive daytime sleepiness (n=23, 100.0%), cataplexy (n=19, 82.6%), hypnagogic hallucination (n=5, 21.7%) and sleep paralysis (n=12, 52.2%). In nocturnal polysomnographic findings, stage 2 sleep and REM latency were found to be significantly decreased in narcoleptic patients compared with the control group, and were accompanied by significant increases in stage 1 sleep. Narcoleptic patients had lower scores than the control group on total number, Total Number-Total Error, Concentration Performance and Fluctuation Rate on the d2 test, which measures attention. Also, there were significant differences between the performance of patient and control groups on the B list of the K-CVLT, which measures verbal memory. Conclusion: Narcoleptic patients showed decreased attention and verbal memory performance compared to the control group; however, in many areas, narcoleptic patients still demonstrated normal cognitive function.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.38-42
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• 2006

The case of a 66- year-old woman with coexisting idiopathic basal ganglia calcification(IBGC) and dementia was presented. The calcification was detected in bilateral basal ganglia, dentate nucleus, and thalamus by brain imaging. Serum calcium and phosphorus levels were normal. The underlying diseases of calcification of basal ganglia such as parathyroid dysfunction and other infectious, toxic, or metabolic illness were excluded. The patient had memory impairment and frontal executive dysfunction without aphasia, agnosia, apraxia, and visuospatial impairment in neuropsychological test. It suggested that the cognitive impairment might be due to the dysfunction of frontal-subcortical circuit.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.118-136
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• 2003

Objective: This study is to examine the neuropsychological and developmental characteristics of the Computerized Neurocognitive Function Test among normal children in elementary school. Methods: K-ABC, K-PIC, and Computerized Neurocognitive Function Test were performed to the 120 body of normal children(10 of each male and female) from June, 2002 to January, 2003. Those children had over the average of intelligence and passed the rule out criteria. One-way ANOVA and Bonferroni were used for statistical analysis. Results: In sampling of normal children in elementary school, the control of intelligence level and strict rule out criteria were applied. As a result, although 21.1% were excluded from of total participants, the children that passed the rule out criteria had over the average of intelligence and not differ in the intelligence level among the graders. Comparing Computerized Neurocognitive Function Test results among the graders, almost of variables had significant difference among the graders and especially between the 1st to 2nd and the 5th to 6th graders. In the attention tests, as rising the graders, the performance of tests were improved. In the short-term memory tests, the difference between forward and backward tests were same as the previous research result. The verbal auditory learning test composed of recall task and visual figure memory test composed of recognition task were same as the previous research result using the individual power or achievement test and also as rising the graders, the performance of those tests were improved. The higher cognitive function tests had the same results with other tests. Conclusion: The Computerized Neurocognitive Function Test devised for adult can be used of assessing child neuropsychological characteristics. For this objective, more strict sampling criteria, control of the intelligence and psychopathology were needed.