Oral care-induded activation and reproduction of the neurocognitive function in the elderly

本研究采用简易精神状态检查量表（MMSE）和kana-hiroi测验（KHT），探讨了刷牙（TB）对神经认知功能的影响。使用神经健康的受试者，其中13名受试者被随机选择参与使用功能性磁共振成像（fMRI）的实验。当使用MMSE和KHT的测试中的分数在存在和不存在TB之间进行比较时，我们发现TB导致所有测试的分数显著增加。在MMSE和KHT中，这种效应明显具有年龄依赖性。此外，在使用功能磁共振成像的实验中，在TB存在的情况下，在执行KHT期间前额叶皮层的激活显著增加。这些结果表明，结核病引起的神经认知功能的老年人通过激活前额叶皮层的增强作用。

In this study, we investigated the involvement of toothbrushing(TB) in neurocognition, using mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and kana-hiroi test (KHT). Neurologically healthy subjects were used, of which 13 subjects were randomly selected to participate in the experiment using a functional magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI). When the scores in the tests using MMSE and KHT were compared between in the presence and absence of TB, we found that TB causes significant increases in the score of all tests. In MMSE and KHT, this effect was apparently age-dependent. Furthermore, in the experiment using fMRI, an activation of the prefrontal cortex during performance of KHT was markedly increased in the presence of TB. These results suggest that TB causes an enhancing effect on the neurocognitive function in the elderly through activation in the prefrontal cortex.