Improved Cognitive Function and Emotional Condition Measured Using Electroencephalography in the Elderly during Horticultural Activities

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare the physiological and psychological effects in the elderly during horticultural and nonhorticultural activities as leisure activities. A total of 58 participants aged 65 or older (29 men and 29 women; average age, 74.0 ± 4.7) whose cognitive function was within the normal range were included in this study. Participants performed four horticultural and four nonhorticultural activities for 2 min, respectively. The study had a cross-over experimental design. Electroencephalography was performed during all the activities. Subjective evaluation of emotions was performed using the Profile of Mood States immediately after each activity. The collected statistical data were analyzed using Duncan’s test as a post-analysis of variance test to verify the differences in the results of electroencephalography and the Profile of Mood States according to the different activities. In the results of the electroencephalography, the relative beta, gamma, low-beta, and ratio of sensorimotor rhythm to theta indices indicate that the degree of brain activity in the prefrontal lobe was high during activities such as washing leaves, transplanting plants, and reading news. The results of the Profile of Mood States showed that during activities such as arranging flowers, transplanting, and washing leaves, the total mood disorder score was lowered, indicating a positive effect on the mood of the participants. This study shows that activities such as washing leaves, transplanting, and reading news have a positive effect on the cognitive function of elderly people by increasing brain activity.

Psychophysiological Responses of Adults According to Cognitive Demand Levels for Horticultural Activities

“…The result of the horticultural activity program for the elderly with mild to moderate dementia was that the Vitality Index and Mini-Mental State Examination scores improved significantly after the horticultural activity program was implemented compared with before the program [70]. In a similar study, horticultural activities such as seed sowing and plant planting had a positive effect on cognitive function and emotional stability by activating the brains of elderly participants compared with general leisure activities [55].…”

“…Beta waves are subdivided into RLB (12-15 Hz), relative mid beta (15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20), and relative high beta (20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30), and when activated, they improve concentration and attention [53,54]. According to previous studies, an increase in beta bands is associated with improvements in cognitive functions such as memory function, language function, and attention [55]. An increase in the beta bands may help improve or maintain cognitive function [46].…”

Electroencephalography (EEG)-Based Neural Emotional Response to Flower Arrangements (FAs) on Normal Elderly (NE) and Cognitively Impaired Elderly (CIE)

“…This shows that FA can promote people’s physical and mental health. Seon-Ok Kim showed that the total mood disorder score of elderly was lowered after FA, indicating a positive effect on the mood of participants [ 50 ]. FA can effectively reduce the total emotional disorder and anxiety of the Psychology teacher [ 51 ].…”

Physiological and Psychological Responses to Coding Combined with Horticultural Activity

“…Four activities were then performed in random order: connecting the components, planting, coding, and the combined coding and horticultural task. Each activity was performed for 5 min by referring to an electroencephalograph (EEG) measurement study on horticultural activities and considering the time needed to complete the activity (Oh et al, 2019;Kim et al, 2021aKim et al, , 2021b. In addition, participants were requested to avoid speaking or moving more than necessary because such movements may influence the brain-wave measurements.…”

“…4A). This device minimized the risk of electric shock compared with wet electrode systems that use an electrolyte gel (Kim et al, 2021b). In addition, it has the advantage of quicker setup time, increased versatility, and improved mobility (Okolo and Omurtag, 2018).…”