Differences in and correlations between cognitive abilities and brain volumes in healthy control, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer disease groups.

The purpose of this study is to investigate differences in and correlations between cognitive abilities and brain volumes in healthy control (HC), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and Alzheimer's disease (AD) groups. The Korean Version of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD-K), which is used to diagnose AD, was used to measure the cognitive abilities of the study subjects, and the volumes of typical brain components related to AD diagnosis-cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), gray matter (GM), and white matter (WM)-were acquired. Of the CERAD-K subtests, the Boston Naming Test distinguished significantly among the HC, MCI, and AD groups. GM and WM volumes differed significantly among the three groups. There was a significant positive correlation between Boston Naming Test scores and GM and WM volumes. In conclusion, the Boston Naming Test and GM and WM brain volumes differentiated the three tested groups accurately, and there were strong correlations between Boston Naming Test scores and GM and WM volumes. These results will help to establish a test method that differentiates the three groups accurately and is economically feasible.

Extraction and Analysis of Risk Elements for Korean Homecare Patients with Senile Dementia.

The purpose of this study is to provide information for the protection of Korean homecare patients with senile dementia by investigating accident cases using a survey. With the survey of accident cases, the caregivers of 55 Korean homecare patients with senile dementia (75.9 ± 7.0 years) were administered the short form of the Samsung Dementia Questionnaire (S-SDQ) and an activities of daily living (ADL) test. Twelve risk elements were extracted. The order of frequency of occurrence from highest to lowest was "egress," "fall," "violence," "collision," "gas accident," "slip," "faucet misuse," "overeating," "drop," "discharge," "weird eating," and "self-injury." The percentage of risk elements resulting in physical harm was 40.1% across all risk elements. The risk elements resulting in the most physical harm were "fall," "collision," "slip," and "drop," respectively. Regarding the location of occurrence of risk elements, risk elements resulting in physical harm showed no significant differences between indoors and outdoors. Some risk elements, such as "egress," "fall," and "gas accident" happened concurrently with more than four other elements, while "collision," "drop," and "violence" happened together with more than two other elements. "Slip" happened significantly more often in the low ADL score group, while "gas accident" happened significantly more often in the high ADL score group. This study provides basic information about monitoring factors to protect senior homecare patients with senile dementia.

Differences in Activation Area Within Brodmann Area 2 Caused by Pressure Stimuli on Fingers and Joints: In Case of Male Subjects.

In this study, a constant pressure stimulus was applied on the 3 joints (first [p1], second [p2], and third [p3] joints) of 4 fingers (index, middle, ring, and little fingers), and the activation areas within Brodmann area 2 (BA 2) were compared for these different fingers and joints by using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Eight healthy male college students (25.4 ±â€Š1.32 years) participated in the study. Each session was composed of 3 blocks, and each block was composed of a Control phase (30 seconds) and a Pressure phase (30 seconds). No pressure stimulus was applied in the Control phase, during which the subjects would simply lay comfortably with their eyes closed. In the Pressure phase, a pressure stimulus was applied onto one of the joints of the selected finger. For each finger and joint, BA 2 areas activated by the pressure stimulus were extracted by the region of interest method. There was a significant difference in the activation areas for the different fingers (P = .042) as well as for the different joints (P = .050). The activation area decreased in the order of the little, index, and middle fingers, as well as in the order of p1, p3, and p2.

Change of neuronal activations induced by the passive perception of driving speed difference.

The change of neuronal activation due to the passive perception of various driving speeds in comparison to a reference driving speed was assessed using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Videos recorded in real driving conditions on the road at driving speeds of 50, 70, 90, and 110 km/h were shown as visual stimuli. An experiment consisted of three blocks, each having a control phase (50km/h) and a stimulation phase (70, 90, or 110 km/h). In the passive perception of various driving speed differences, the areas related to visual cognition and spatial attention such as temporal, occipital, parietal, frontal areas, and cerebellum were activated. As the driving speed difference increased, the number of activated voxels also increased in the areas related to visual cognition. However, the visual cognition related areas showed a different pattern from the spatial attention related area with an increase of the driving speed difference. This implies that each brain area has a different level of involvement in the passive perception of the driving speed difference, although both visual cognitions related areas and spatial attention related area are related to it.

Effects of 92% oxygen administration on cognitive performance and physiological changes of intellectually and developmentally disabled people.

BACKGROUND: The present study addressed how 92% oxygen administration affects cognitive performance, blood oxygen saturation (SpO2), and heart rate (HR) of intellectually and developmentally disabled people. METHODS: Seven males (28.9 ± 1.8 years) and seven females (34.4 ± 8.3 years) with intellectual and developmental disabilities (disabled level 2.1 ± 0.5) completed an experiment consisting a 0-back task with normal air (21% oxygen) administered in one run and hyperoxic air (92% oxygen) administered in the other run. The experimental sequence in each run consisted of a 1-min adaptation phase, 2-min control phase, and 2-min 0-back task phase, where SpO2 and HR were gauged for each phase. RESULTS: The administration of 92% oxygen increased 0-back task performance of intellectually and developmentally disabled people, in association with increased SpO2 and decreased HR. Our results demonstrate that sufficient oxygen supply subserving cognitive functions, even as a short-term effect, could increase cognitive ability for the intellectually and developmentally disabled people. CONCLUSIONS: It is concluded that enriched oxygen can positively affect, at least in the short-term, the working memory of those with intellectual and developmental disability.

Differing ERP patterns caused by suction and puff stimuli.

The present study compared event-related potential (ERP) patterns for two stimuli types, puff and suction, by applying these stimuli to the fingers; ERP patterns for the two stimuli were compared at C3, an area related to somatosensory perception, and at FC5, an area related to motor function. Participants were 12 healthy males in their 20s (mean age=23.1±2.0 years). One session consisted of a Control Phase (3s), a Stimulation Phase (3s), and a Rest Phase (9s). During the Stimulation Phase, a 4-psi suction or puff stimulus was applied to the first joint of the right index finger. After completion of the session, a subjective magnitude test was presented. In all phases, electroencephalography signals were recorded. We extracted maximum positive amplitude and minimum negative amplitude as well as relevant latency values for C3 and FC5 signals. Suction and puff stimuli had similar subjective magnitude scores. For both C3 and FC5, the maximum and minimum amplitude latency was reached earlier for the suction stimulus than for the puff stimulus. In conclusion, when suction and puff stimuli of the same intensity were applied to the fingers, the suction stimulus caused a more sensitive response in the somatosensory area (C3) and motor area (FC5) than did the puff stimulus.

Effects of distraction task on driving: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

This study investigated neuronal activation differences under two conditions: driving only and distracted driving. Driving and distraction tasks were performed using a Magnetic Resonance (MR)-compatible driving simulator with a driving wheel and pedal. The experiment consisted of three blocks, and each block had both a Rest phase (1 min) and a Driving phase (2 min). During the Rest phase, drivers were instructed to simply look at the stop screen without performing any driving tasks. During the Driving phase, each driver was required to drive at 110 km/h under two conditions: driving only and driving while performing additional distraction tasks. The results show that the precuneus, inferior parietal lobule, supramarginal gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, cuneus, and declive are less activated in distracted driving than in driving only. These regions are responsible for spatial perception, spatial attention, visual processing and motor control. However, the cingulate gyrus and sub-lobar regions (lentiform nucleus and caudate), which are responsible for error monitoring and control of unnecessary movement, show increased activation during distracted driving compared with driving only.

Development of a simultaneous vibration and pressure stimulation system for cognitive studies.

In this study, a tactile stimulator that could separately or simultaneously display the vibrotactile and pressure sense was developed. The developed system consisted of a control unit, a drive unit, and an actuator, and can be operated with PC or manually. This system quantitatively controls the stimulation parameters such as the stimulation intensity, duration, frequency, and stimulation type. A preliminary electroencephalogram (EEG) experiment for three types of stimulation (vibrotactile, pressure sense, vibrotactile + pressure sense) highlights that the system could be used in complex tactile cognitive studies. An event-related desynchronization (ERD) and synchronization (ERS) were measured at the area of C3 and C4 for all three types of stimulation, and a clear response was identified in the contralateral somatosensory area from the brain topology. Therefore, it is expected that this system could be widely used in single and complex human tactile cognition and perception studies for vibrotactile and pressure sensation.