• Journal of Gifted/Talented Education
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.503-526
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• 2010

We investigated the brain activity in perceiving the emotional stimuli between a science invention group(n=13) and a general group(n=13). The science invention group, which mostly consisted of recipients of creativity prizes, scored 96% on creative personality tests(WKOPAY, SAM), whereas the general group performed at an average level on these tests. Analyzing the brain activity in perceiving the emotional stimuli(IAPS pictures), the science invention group than the general group showed higher activity in certain areas, such as MTG, STG, and so on. When correlation analysis was performed on the creative personality score and brain activity, MTG, STG, and so on areas showed significant correlations. There were more correlation areas in valence than in arousal. These results show that scientific creativity is related to emotional susceptibility. Thus, we insist that emotion be considered in the assessment and education programs for the gifted in science.

• Korean Journal of Cognitive Science
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.49-69
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• 2013

While we interact with other people or objects, the brain continuously updates our own body schema to recognize the agent of observed actions. The Extrastriate Body Area (EBA) provides an initial interface for the sense of agency by integrating visual inputs of body parts with internal signals related to self-generated body movements. Less is known, however, about how the functional use of tools contributes to such processes. Here, we investigated whether tool-specific affordance would differentially affect the neural responses in the EBA depending on the agency of imaginary actions. In each trial we presented a picture of an object in a rectangular frame. Objects were either the tools typically brought towards the body (body tools; e.g., telescope, earphones) or away from the body (world tools; e.g., pen, dice; Rueschemeyer, Pfeiffer, & Bekkering, 2010). Depending on the color of the frame, participants imagined either themselves or the other person using the tool (self vs. other conditions). These four types of trials were randomly intermixed with blank trials. As results, independently localized right EBA regions of interest showed greater activation when participants imagined themselves using body tools than using world tools whereas no such differential activations were found when they imagined the other person using the tools. The postscan test revealed no significant difference in vividness of imagery between the self and other conditions. Our results suggest that the EBA incorporates functional affordance of tools into the body schema in order to enhance the sense of agency and to guide our own actions.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.131-141
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• 2001

Purpose: We evaluated the sensitivity of the F-18 FDG PET by visual assessment and statistical parametric mapping (SPM) analysis for the localization of the epileptogenic zones in frontal lobe epilepsy. Materials and Methods: Twenty-four patients with frontal lobe epilepsy were examined. All patients exhibited improvements after surgical resection (Engel class I or II). Upon pathological examination, 18 patients revealed cortical dysplasia, 4 patients revealed tumor, and 2 patients revealed cortical scar. The hypometabolic lesions were found in F-18 FDG PET by visual assessment and SPM analysis. On SPM analysis, cutoff threshold was changed. Results: MRI showed structural lesions in 12 patients and normal results in the remaining 12. F-18 FDG PET correctly localized epileptogenic zones in 13 patients (54%) by visual assessment. Sensitivity of F-18 FDG PET in MR-negative patients (50%) was similar to that in MR-positive patients (67%). On SPM analysis, sensitivity decreased according to the decrease of p value. Using uncorrected p value of 0.05 as threshold, sensitivity of SPM analysis was 53%, which was not statistically different from that of visual assessment. Conclusion: F-18 FDG PET was sensitive in finding epileptogenic zones by revealing hypometabolic areas even in MR-negative patients with frontal lobe epilepsy as well as in MR-positive patients. SPM analysis showed comparable sensitivity to visual assessment and could be used as an aid in the diagnosis of epileptogenic zones in frontal lobe epilepsy.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.9-15
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• 2007

Purpose: Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has recently been clinically applied in the treatment of drug resistant depressed patients. There are mixed findings about the efficacy of rTMS on depression. Furthermore, the influence of rTMS on the physiology of the brain is not clear. We prospectively evaluated changes of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) between pre- and post-rTMS treatment in patients with drug resistant depression. Materials and Methods: Twelve patients with drug-resistant depression (7 male, 5 female; age range: $19{\sim}52$ years; mean age: $29.3{\pm}9.3$ years) were given rTMS on right prefrontal lobe with low frequency (1 Hz) and on left prefrontal lobe with high frequency (20 Hz), with 20-minute-duration each day for 3 weeks. Tc-99m ECD brain perfusion SPECT was obtained before and after rTMS treatment. The changes of cerebral perfusion were analyzed using statistical parametric mapping (SPM; t=3.14, uncorrected p<0.01, voxel=100). Results: Following areas showed significant increase in rCBF after 3 weeks rTMS treatment: the cingulate gyrus, fusiform gyrus of right temporal lobe, precuneus, and left lateral globus pallidus. Significant decrement was noted in: the precental and middle frontal gyrus of right frontal lobe, and fusiform gyrus of left occipital lobe. Conclusion: Low-frequency rTMS on the right prefrontal cortex and high-frequency rTMS on the left prefrontal cortex for 3 weeks as an add-on regimen have increased and decreased rCBF in the specific brain regions in drug-resistant depressed patients. Further analyses correlating clinical characteristics and treatment paradigm with functional imaging data may be helpful in clarifying the pathophysiology of drug-resistant depressed patients.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.153-165
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• 2017

Objectives : Recent neuroimaging studies focus on dysfunctions in connectivity between cognitive circuits and emotional circuits: anterior cingulate cortex that connects dorsolateral orbitofrontal cortex and prefrontal cortex to limbic system. Previous studies on pediatric depression using DTI have reported decreased neural connectivity in several brain regions, including the amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex, superior longitudinal fasciculus. We compared the neural connectivity of psychotropic drug naïve adolescent patients with a first onset of major depressive episode with healthy controls using DTI. Methods : Adolescent psychotropic drug naïve patients(n=26, 10 men, 16 women; age range, 13-18 years) who visited the Korea University Guro Hospital and were diagnosed with first onset major depressive disorder were registered. Healthy controls(n=27, 5 males, 22 females; age range, 12-17 years) were recruited. Psychiatric interviews, complete psychometrics including IQ and HAM-D, MRI including diffusion weighted image acquisition were conducted prior to antidepressant administration to the patients. Fractional anisotropy(FA), radial, mean, and axial diffusivity were estimated using DTI. FMRIB Software Library-Tract Based Spatial Statistics was used for statistical analysis. Results : We did not observe any significant difference in whole brain analysis. However, ROI analysis on right superior longitudinal fasciculus resulted in 3 clusters with significant decrease of FA in patients group. Conclusions : The patients with adolescent major depressive disorder showed statistically significant FA decrease in the DTI-based structure compared with healthy control. Therefore we suppose DTI can be used as a bio-marker in psychotropic drug-naïve adolescent patients with first onset major depressive disorder.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.103-107
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• 1997

Purpose: To investigate the localization and functional lateralization of the supplementary motor area (SMA) in motor activation tests in comparison to that of the primary motor area. Materials and Methods: Seven healthy volunteers obtained echoplanar imaging blood oxygen level dependent technique. This study was carried on 1.5T Siemens Magnetom Vision system with the standard head coil. Parameters of EPI were followed as; TR/TE : 1.0/66.0msec, flip angle: $90^{\circ}$, field of view: $22cm{\times}22cm,{\;}matrix:{\;}128{\times}128$, slice number/slice thickness/gap: 1O/4mm/0.8mm with fat suppression technique. Motor task as finger opposition in each hand consisted of 3 sets of alternative rest and activation periods. Postprocessing were done on Stimulate 5.0 by using cross-correlation statistics. To compare the functional lateralization of the SMA in the right and left hand tests, each examination was evaluated for the percent change of signal intensity and the number of activated voxels both in the SMA and in the pri¬mary motor area. Hemispheric asymmetry was defined as difference of summation of the activted voxels between each hemisphere. Results: Percent change of signal intensity in the SMA (2.49 -3.06%) is lower than that of primary motor area(4.4 -7.23%). Percent change of signal intensity including activated voxels were observed almost equally in the right and left SMA. As for summation of activated voxels, primary motor area had significant difference between each hemisphere but not did the SMA. Conclusion: Preferred contralateral dominant hemisphere and hemispheric asymmetry were detected in the primary motor area but not in the SMA.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.75-81
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• 2013

Objectives: There are a lot of studies that analyze the interaction between the emotion of disgust and the functional brain images using fMRI and PET. But studies using sLORETA (standardized low resolution brain electromagnetic tomography) almost do not exist. The aim of this research is to explore the relationship of the emotion of disgust and the cortical activation using sLORETA analysis. Methods: Forty five healthy young adults ($27.1{\pm}2.6$ years) participated in the study. While they were watching 4 neutral images and 4 disgusting images associated with mutilation selected from the international affective picture system (IAPS), participants' EEGs were taken for 30 seconds per one picture. Through these obtained EEG data, sLORETA analysis was performed to compare EEGs associated with neutral and negative images. Results: During looking for visual disgusting stimulus, all participants reported unpleasantness, arousal and stress. In sLORETA analysis, the decrease of current density in theta wave was shown at left frontal superior gyrus (BA10) and middle gyrus (BA10, 11). This voxel cluster consists of a total of 11 voxels and the threshold of t value indicating statistically significant decreases in the current density (p<0.05) was -1.984. There were no differences between male and female in the degree of being disgusted by the stimuli. Conclusion: This finding may suggest that the activation of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex might be associated with regulating disgust emotion.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Inherited Metabolic disease
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.25-30
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• 2023

Leigh syndrome is a rare progressive neurodegenerative mitochondrial disorder with clinical and genetic heterogeneity. Recently, balletic IARS2 variants have been identified in a number of patients presenting broad clinical phenotypes from Leigh and West syndrome to a rare syndrome CAGSSS characterized by cataracts, growth hormone deficiency, sensory neuropathy, sensorineural hearing loss, and skeletal dysplasia syndrome (OMIM#616007). We describe a child with Korean Leigh syndrome with urologic manifestations resulting from a compound heterozygote mutation in IARS2. A 5-year-old girl visited the emergency room with a complaint of abdominal pain accompanied by abdominal distension. Abdominal-pelvic CT showed a markedly distended urinary bladder without definite obstructive lesions. She was diagnosed with neurogenic bladder dysfunction based on a urodynamic study. She had global delayed development due to neurologic regression after 6 months of age and a history of bilateral cataract surgery at the age of 2 years. Her brain magnetic resonance imaging showed symmetrically increased signal intensities in the bilateral putamen and caudate nuclei with diffuse cerebral atrophy. No gene variants were identified through whole-mitochondrial genome analysis. Whole exome sequencing was performed for diagnosis, and compound heterozygous pathogenic variants were identified in IARS2: c.2446C>T (p. Arg816Ter) and c.2450G>A (p. Arg817His). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of bladder dysfunction manifestation in a patient with IARS2-related Leigh syndrome. Thus, it broadens the clinical and genetic spectrum of IARS2-associated diseases.

• Korean Journal of Cognitive Science
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.79-107
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• 2009

Episodic memory, i.e. memorization of information within a spatiotemporal environment, is affected Alzheimer's disease(AD), but its impairment may also be occurred in the normal aging process. The purpose of this study is to analyze and evaluate memory in with Dementia of Alzheimer Type by examining their cognitive skills in episodic memory using the technique. This new method involves assessing the mental images the subject's own past in the mind like projected and movies. Three patients in the early stage of Dementia of Alzheimer Type, one with mild depression, and 2 healthy controls for comparison were asked to retrieve their episodic memory of the previous day, week, month, and a day testing day. The answers were then analyzed with regards to their specific features as emotional state, color, and time order. In the following day, the subjects were tasked to recall again the images they reproduced in the day's test order to observe of memory. Results showed that all 3 patients failed to arrange the retrieved images in time order and their images of the previous day were unclear in color and were stationary like photographs, even when they reproduced the mental images at much quantity as controls. patients could not remember particular events of yesterday, and only recalled the general occurrences of every day life. These results suggest that in the early stage of Dementia of Alzheimer Type, difficulties in the retrieval of recent episodic memory begin to primarily occur, and qualitative impairment happens earlier than quantitative.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.115-122
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• 2004

It is difficult to think of any behavioral process that is more intrinsically important to human beings than social attachment. Feeding, sleeping and locomotion are all necessary for survival, but humans are 'a social animal' and it is our social attachment that we live for. One of the early pioneers in this area, Harry Harlow, described the different behavioral processes that are involved in the formation of parent-infant, filial and pair(male-female) bonds. Each of these involves multi-sensory processing and complex motor responses. Over the past decades, studies in a range of vertebrates, including humans, have begun to address the neural basis of attachment at a molecular, cellular and systemic level. This review describes some of important insights from these works, involving three different areas：1) Neurobiological research of infant-parent, parent-infant attachment, 2) Animal studies regarding attachment, 3) Neurobehavioral studies of maltreatment/deprivation causing serious breakdown of attachment relationship in humans.