• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.19-24
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• 2000

Objective: In order to investigate the functional brain anatomy associated with verbal and visual working memory, functional magnetic resonance imaging was performed. Materials and Methods: In ten normal right handed subjects, functional MR images were obtained using a 1.5-T MR scanner and the EPI BOLD technique. An item recognition task was used for stimulation, and during the activation period of the verbal working memory task, consonant letters were used. During the activation period of the visual working memory task, symbols or diagrams were employed instead of letters. For the post-processing of images, the SPM program was used, with the threshold of significance set at p < .001. We assessed activated brain areas during the two stimulation tasks and compared the activated regions between the two tasks. Results: The prefrontal cortex and secondary visual cortex were activated bilaterally by both verbal and visual working memory tasks, and the patterns of activated signals were similar in both tasks. The superior parietal cortex was also activated by both tasks, with lateralization to the left in the verbal task, and bilaterally without lateralization in the visual task. The inferior frontal cortex, inferior parietal cortex and temporal gyrus were activated exclusively by the verbal working memory task, predominantly in the left hemisphere. Conclusion: The prefrontal cortex is activated by two stimulation tasks, and this is related to the function of the central executive. The language areas activated by the verbal working memory task may be a function of the phonological loop. Bilateral prefrontal and superior parietal cortices activated by the visual working memory task may be related to the visual maintenance of objects, representing visual working memory.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.106-114
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• 2017

Objectives: This study was to examine the effectiveness of computerized cognitive ability enhancement program (CCAEP) using Smarttoy. The CCAEP using Smart-toy which can interact with children via bluetooth is a kids-friendly and convenient method for improving children's cognitive abilities by increasing their motivation for performing the program. We developed the CCAEP which designed to train auditory-verbal memory, visual-spatial memory, auditory-verbal working memory, and visual-spatial working memory. Methods: Eighteen children aged 8 to 10 participated in CCAEP individual training composed of 8 sessions of 40 minutes each for 4 weeks. The effect of the training was measured with Smart Toyweb's cognitive assessment tasks (smart device based assessment) as well as traditional neuropsychological tests before and after the training. Results: Children showed significant improvement in auditory-verbal memory, visual-spatial memory, auditory-verbal working memory and visual-spatial working memory abilities after the training. Conclusion: This study demonstrated promising results suggesting the effectiveness of CCAEP using Smart-Toy in clinical settings as well as school and home situations. Further controlled study with larger sample size including various clinical groups is needed to confirm the present results.

• 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.

• Psychiatry investigation
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• v.15 no.12
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• pp.1154-1161
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• 2018

Objective The present study aimed to investigate relationship among cognitive factors (working memory and processing speed) and fluid reasoning (Gf) in psychiatric patients using a standardized clinical tool. Methods We included the responses of 115 heterogeneous patients who were diagnosed with the MINI-Plus 5.0 and WAIS-IV/WMS-IV was administered. For our analysis, structured equation modeling (SEM) was conducted to evaluate which cognitive variables are closely related to the Gf. Results The results showed that the visual working memory was the strongest predictor of the Gf compared to other cognitive factors. Conclusion Processing speed was capable of predicting the Gf, when visual working memory was controlled. The inter-relationship among the Gf and other cognitive factors and its clinical implications were further discussed.

• Korean Journal of Cognitive Science
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.125-142
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• 2008

This study investigated the effects of space- and object-based attention on spatial and visual working memory, by measuring recognition of working memory on the spatial Stroop task including two modalities of attention resource. The similarity condition of stimulus arrangement between working memory task and spatial stroop task was manipulated in order to examine the effects of space-based attention on spatial rehearsal during working memory task, while Stroop rendition was manipulated in order to examine the effects of object-based attention on object rehearsal during working memory task. The results showed that in a condition that stimulus arrangement was highly similar for the spatial working memory task and the spatial Stroop task, recognition accuracy of the spatial working memory was high, but it was not significantly different with the Stroop conditions. In contrast, the recognition accuracy of visual working memory in the incongruent Stroop condition was lower than that in the congruent Stroop condition, but it was not significantly different with the similarity conditions (25% vs. 75%). The results indicated that selective attention has effects on working memory only when resource modality of working memory is the same as that of selective attention.

• Korean Journal of Cognitive Science
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.191-206
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• 2006

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of verbal working memory and the spatial working memory on children's text comprehension. The reading span and the operation span of the reading deficient children were smaller than that of the reading normal children, but the two groups did not differ in the visual span. Reading deficient children got lower score in the comprehension tests than reading normal children, and the difference was larger for the expository text than the narrative text. The involvement of visual working memory in reading narrative texts were more directly tested in Experiment 2 by asking the children do a secondary memory task before they answered the comprehension test. Reading normal children suffered more under auditory secondary memory condition for both narrative and expository texts, whereas reading deficient children suffered under visual secondary memory condition for narrative texts as well. The results of the two experiments suggested that the spatial working memory can be involved in text comprehension process, especially with reading deficient children.

• Clinical Psychopharmacology and Neuroscience
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.489-493
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• 2018

Objective: This study was to identify whether working memory (WM) can be clearly subdivided according to auditory and visual modality. To do this, we administered the most recent and universal clinical WM measures in a mixed psychiatric sample. Methods: A total of 115 patients were diagnosed on the basis of DSM-IV diagnostic criteria and with MINI-Plus 5.0, a structured diagnostic interview. WM subtests of Korean version of Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV and Korean version of Wechsler Memory Scale-IV were administered to assess WM. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to observe whether WM measures fit better to a one-factor or two-factor model. Results: CFA results demonstrated that a two factor model fits the data better than one-factor model as expected. Conclusion: Our study supports a modality model of WM, or the existence of modality-specific WM systems, and thus poses a clinical significance of assessing both auditory and visual WM tests.

• Korean Journal of Audiology
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.178-188
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• 2021

Background and Objectives: The influence of musical aptitude on cognitive test performance in musicians is a long-debated research question. Evidence points to the low performance of nonmusicians in visual and auditory cognitive tasks (working memory and attention) compared with musicians. This cannot be generalized to all nonmusicians, as a sub-group in this population can have innate musical abilities even without any formal musical training. The present study aimed to study the effect of musical aptitude on the working memory and selective attention. Subjects and Methods: Three groups of 20 individuals each (a total of 60 participants), including trained-musicians, nonmusicians with good musical aptitude, and nonmusicians with low musical aptitude, participated in the present study. Cognitive-based visual (Flanker's selective attention test) and auditory (working memory tests: backward digit span and operation span) tests were administered. Results: MANOVA (followed by ANOVA) revealed a benefit of musicianship and musical aptitude on backward digit span and Flanker's reaction time (p<0.05). Discriminant function analyses showed that the groups could be effectively (accuracy, 80%) segregated based on the backward digit span and Flanker's selective attention test. Trained musicians and nonmusicians with good musical aptitude were distinguished as one cluster and nonmusicians with low musical aptitude formed another cluster, hinting the role of musical aptitude in working memory and selective attention. Conclusions: Nonmusicians with good musical aptitude can have enhanced working memory and selective attention skills like musicians. Hence, caution is required when these individuals are included as controls in cognitive-based visual and auditory experiments.

• Journal of Audiology & Otology
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.178-188
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• 2021

Background and Objectives: The influence of musical aptitude on cognitive test performance in musicians is a long-debated research question. Evidence points to the low performance of nonmusicians in visual and auditory cognitive tasks (working memory and attention) compared with musicians. This cannot be generalized to all nonmusicians, as a sub-group in this population can have innate musical abilities even without any formal musical training. The present study aimed to study the effect of musical aptitude on the working memory and selective attention. Subjects and Methods: Three groups of 20 individuals each (a total of 60 participants), including trained-musicians, nonmusicians with good musical aptitude, and nonmusicians with low musical aptitude, participated in the present study. Cognitive-based visual (Flanker's selective attention test) and auditory (working memory tests: backward digit span and operation span) tests were administered. Results: MANOVA (followed by ANOVA) revealed a benefit of musicianship and musical aptitude on backward digit span and Flanker's reaction time (p<0.05). Discriminant function analyses showed that the groups could be effectively (accuracy, 80%) segregated based on the backward digit span and Flanker's selective attention test. Trained musicians and nonmusicians with good musical aptitude were distinguished as one cluster and nonmusicians with low musical aptitude formed another cluster, hinting the role of musical aptitude in working memory and selective attention. Conclusions: Nonmusicians with good musical aptitude can have enhanced working memory and selective attention skills like musicians. Hence, caution is required when these individuals are included as controls in cognitive-based visual and auditory experiments.

• Proceedings of the KOSOMBE Conference
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• v.1998 no.11
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• pp.257-258
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• 1998

To reveal the interconnected brain regions involved in human working memory, their functional connectivity was analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA). rCBF PET scans were peformed on 5 normal volunteers during the verbal and visual working memory tasks and PCA was applied. PCA produced the first principal components related with the increase of the difficulty and the second one which demonstrate the dissociation of verbal and visual memory system.