1.A Trial of Objective Measurement of Pain
Isao MATSUMOTO ; Yoshihiko WATANABE ; Kuninori YOKOYAMA ; Etsutaro IKEZONO ; Haruo SANO
Journal of the Japan Society of Acupuncture and Moxibustion 1982;32(1):5-9
Introduction
We attempted to get an objective index of pain, giving electro-nocistimulus to the tooth and making a comparison between the stimulus rate and subjective pain. We examined variations of the response to stimulus under this low-frequency electric treatment.
Method
Treated were single healthy upper incisors of 14 medical doctors. Fixing a silver electrode of 4mm2 on each tooth and an indifferent electrode on the buccal surface of the same side, stimulation was applied.
Effect
Three categories of pain, i. e. pre-pain, tolerable pain and intolerable pain were established for the purpose of this study. We made use of these categories as an objective index of pain. It was also evident that, under low frequency electric treatment to acupoints of acupuncture anesthesia, there were variations in intolerable pain. We examined variations of this pain.
Conclusion
It was concluded that there were two types of objects, i. e. the effective and the ineffective.
Intolerable level was affected by the low frequency electric treatment and pain was alleviated.
2.Assessment of Cognitive Function in the Elderly Using the Soundcell Method
Yoshihiko SANO ; Yuki SASAKI ; Misako HANAI ; Nobuyuki SUZUMOT ; Takahiro TODOROKI ; Tomihiro HAYAKAWA ; Makoto MIYAJI ; Katsumi MITA
Journal of the Japanese Association of Rural Medicine 2014;62(5):715-725
A soundcell is defined as a musical unit of meaning with short period of phrase. The soundcell method (SCM) is a musical procedure that decomposes a musical piece into several soundcells and subsequently recomposes the original music with the soundcells arbitrarily scattered. The present investigation aimed to assess cognitive function in the elderly using the SCM. An electronic system realizing the concept and methodology of the SCM was developed, and SCM examination with the school song “Furusato” as the musical piece was performed on18aged females. Four clinical tests were also carried out before or after the SCM examination to screen cognitive function: Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Kana Pick-out Test, and Trail Making Tests A and B. The performance in the SCM examination was compared with the score in the clinical tests. The scores in all four clinical tests were significantly different between subjects who passed and failed the SCM examination. The individuals who passed the SCM examination were not suspected of dementia on the basis of the MMSE and seemed to execute successfully the Kana Pick-out Test. The number of acts and mean act time in the SCM examination were strongly correlated not only with the total score in the MMSE but also with the scores of the two sub-items: attention/calculation and memory recall. The results suggest that the SCM reflects a subject's short-term and recent memory and provides useful supplementary information for early diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease since impairment of memory is frequently observed in the early stage of the diseases. In addition, most subjects enjoyed the SCM examination incorporating the element of musical amusement. The SCM is thus expected to allow repetitive and participatory assessment of cognitive function without imposing a large psychological burden on the subject.