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배경 및 목적: 경도인지장애(mild cognitive impairment, MCI) 환자는 인지기능의 손상 양상이 다양한 이질적인 집단이므로, MCI 하위유형의 특징을 살펴보는 것이 중요하다. 본 연구는 단일영역 기억상실형 경도인지장애(amnestic single-domain MCI, asMCI), 다영역 기억상실형 경도인지장애(amnestic...

Purpose: The International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health can be utilized to measure individual health. Although ‘activity’ is one of the components of health, no studies have investigated the frequency of participation of the elderly in daily communication activities, such as talking, reading, and writing. We examined the daily communication behaviors of normal elderly subjects and their effects on cognitive and language test performance. Methods: Normal elderly subjects (n = 456) over 60 years old completed a questionnaire on how often they thought that they talked/read/wrote in their daily lives. Also, they were administered the Korean Mini-Mental State Examination, Controlled Oral Word Association Test, Short Form of the Korean version-the Boston Naming Test, and Sentence Comprehension Test. Results: About 50% of the participants reported that they seldom talked, read, and/or wrote daily. The more frequently that the participants reported daily talking, reading and writing, the better they performed on cognitive and/or language tests. Daily writing influenced the test results the most, which suggested that writing behavior was closely related to all four cognitive/ language tests. Conclusion: These results suggested that daily active communication behaviors play major roles in the cognitive and language abilities of the elderly.

Aim The purpose of the present study was to investigate if performance in a 30-s verbal semantic fluency task (i.e. animal naming) across five elderly aged groups (60–64; 65–69; 70–74; 75–79; 80–84 years) would be reflective of aging effect. Methods We analyzed differences in performance across 5-s phases and the moment of first word production in these five age groups. Results The following results were obtained: (i) with increasing age, the total number of words produced gradually declined (P

Aim A pen and paper Token Test utilizing binary scoring of accuracy–inaccuracy in responses evaluates linguistic functions including verbal comprehension. However, the test might not be sensitive enough to detect the aging effect on performance in normal older adults unless the test utilizes a multidimensional scoring system. We hypothesized that the measurement of response time (RT) instead of accuracy would be a feasible way to measure deterioration of verbal comprehension as a function of age in this linguistically vulnerable population. Methods Data were acquired from 174 community-dwelling normal older adults (147 females and 27 males, mean age 75.9 ± 6.13 years, range 65–94 years). In order to automatically quantify accuracies and RT, we developed an iOS app-based Token Test, comprising of four subtests (24 items, 6 items in each subtest), and administered it to each participant. Results RT of the second, third and fourth subtests (P

Aim Illiterate individuals represent a significant proportion of the world's population. Acquisition of reading and writing skills influences the functional status of the brain, and consequently alters the performance on cognitive and language tests. Thus, it is important to identify the degree of the impact of levels of both illiteracy and education as potential confounders on test performance in people with neurological communication disorders. Methods A total of 203 community-dwelling older adults aged 65 years and older were recruited for the present study. Participants were classified into four groups based on the literacy level; pure illiterate (n = 29), semi-illiterate (n = 67), literate (n = 75) and high-level literate (n = 32). The participants completed the Mini-Mental State Examination, Boston Naming Test, Controlled Oral Word Association Test (animal), verb naming, and sentence comprehension tests. Results The pure illiterate group showed the lowest performance on all five tests. Regression analysis showed that literacy level was the variable that best predicted the performance on cognitive and language tests. Conclusions These findings suggest that literacy in performance on cognitive and language tests is an important factor in neuropsychological evaluations for older adults. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2014; 14: 911–917.

Aim The aim of the present study was to delineate how age-related deterioration affects the handwriting of healthy elderly (HE) subjects. Methods A total of 235 HE (54 males, 181 females) aged 57–91 years participated as subjects in the study. In order to compare the area of handwriting, we divided the participants into two groups: (i) aged 57–74 years; and (ii) aged 75–91 years. The writing stimulus was a four-syllabic word with one-to-one grapheme-to-phoneme correspondence. The size of each syllable in the target word was measured using a software program. Alignment of the word to baseline was assessed using a multiple-choice checklist. Results As compared with handwriting by the younger group, the older group showed greater variability in the size of the written syllables within the word (P = 0.023). Conclusion The handwriting was characterized by unequal size among syllables and non-perpendicular alignment, which could be explained by several factors. First, the variability might have resulted from irregular fine movement motor control in older adults. Second, the deterioration of visual feedback and visuomotor integration in normal aging might have affected handwriting performance. In conclusion, variability of handwriting can be sensitive in predicting the aging process. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2014; 14: 458–463.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate if performance in a 30-s verbal semantic fluency task (i.e. animal naming) across five elderly aged groups (60-64; 65-69; 70-74; 75-79; 80-84 years) would be reflective of aging effect.We analyzed differences in performance across 5-s phases and the moment of first word production in these five age groups.The following results were obtained: (i) with increasing age, the total number of words produced gradually declined (P 0.001); (ii) there were significant differences in performance among the age groups in three phases (0-5, 6-10, 16-20 s) (P 0.05); and (iii) the first word production within the first 5-s phase was significantly delayed in the 75-79 years and 80-84 years age groups compared with the rest of the age groups.Performance in the initial 5-s phase might be sensitive to cognitive degeneration in normal older adults.

Illiterate individuals represent a significant proportion of the world's population. Acquisition of reading and writing skills influences the functional status of the brain, and consequently alters the performance on cognitive and language tests. Thus, it is important to identify the degree of the impact of levels of both illiteracy and education as potential confounders on test performance in people with neurological communication disorders.A total of 203 community-dwelling older adults aged 65 years and older were recruited for the present study. Participants were classified into four groups based on the literacy level; pure illiterate (n=29), semi-illiterate (n=67), literate (n=75) and high-level literate (n=32). The participants completed the Mini-Mental State Examination, Boston Naming Test, Controlled Oral Word Association Test (animal), verb naming, and sentence comprehension tests.The pure illiterate group showed the lowest performance on all five tests. Regression analysis showed that literacy level was the variable that best predicted the performance on cognitive and language tests.These findings suggest that literacy in performance on cognitive and language tests is an important factor in neuropsychological evaluations for older adults.

A pen and paper Token Test utilizing binary scoring of accuracy-inaccuracy in responses evaluates linguistic functions including verbal comprehension. However, the test might not be sensitive enough to detect the aging effect on performance in normal older adults unless the test utilizes a multidimensional scoring system. We hypothesized that the measurement of response time (RT) instead of accuracy would be a feasible way to measure deterioration of verbal comprehension as a function of age in this linguistically vulnerable population.Data were acquired from 174 community-dwelling normal older adults (147 females and 27 males, mean age 75.9 ± 6.13 years, range 65-94 years). In order to automatically quantify accuracies and RT, we developed an iOS app-based Token Test, comprising of four subtests (24 items, 6 items in each subtest), and administered it to each participant.RT of the second, third and fourth subtests (P0.001, P0.01, P0.05, respectively) and the average RT across all four subtests (P0.01) had significant partial correlation coefficients with age. The results of the multiple linear regression analyses showed that the models for RT and average RT analyses of the three subtests (2, 3 and 4) included the age variable.RT measurement of the iOS app-based Token Test could be highly useful and convenient to better detect abnormalities in linguistic efficiency. RT measurement in the Token Test could be used as a screening tool for linguistic slowing in the elderly population.

The aim of the present study was to delineate how age-related deterioration affects the handwriting of healthy elderly (HE) subjects.A total of 235 HE (54 males, 181 females) aged 57-91 years participated as subjects in the study. In order to compare the area of handwriting, we divided the participants into two groups: (i) aged 57-74 years; and (ii) aged 75-91 years. The writing stimulus was a four-syllabic word with one-to-one grapheme-to-phoneme correspondence. The size of each syllable in the target word was measured using a software program. Alignment of the word to baseline was assessed using a multiple-choice checklist.As compared with handwriting by the younger group, the older group showed greater variability in the size of the written syllables within the word (P = 0.023).The handwriting was characterized by unequal size among syllables and non-perpendicular alignment, which could be explained by several factors. First, the variability might have resulted from irregular fine movement motor control in older adults. Second, the deterioration of visual feedback and visuomotor integration in normal aging might have affected handwriting performance. In conclusion, variability of handwriting can be sensitive in predicting the aging process.

The experiences of children are affected by the reference group's societal placement; the nature of the available ecosystems (and environmental constraints) dictates the quality of expected behaviors. A perspective from cultural anthropology describes sub-cultural theories of ethnicity as attempts to define or categorize groups as a function of their cultural habits and then to stereotype the entire cultural unit as a function of such habits. Critiques of academic sub-cultural theories of ethnicity also posit that the subcultural group's fit into the societal production process further specifies the nature of children's experiences.' Black children's performance in school reflects the group's marginality. An examination of the processes or methods by which marginality affects the group and the child's educability requires a perusal of several key issues: double stratification, psychological risk, adaptational processes and the interface of psychological health and school performance.