• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.43-49
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• 2005

A few studies have shown that the function of fusiform face area is selectively involved in the perception of faces including a race difference. We investigated the neural substrates of the face-selective region called fusiform face area in the ventral occipital-temporal cortex and same-race memory superiority in the fusiform face area by the event-related fMRI. In our fMRI study, subjects (Oriental-Korean) performed the implicit distinction of the race while they consciously made familiar-judgments, regardless of whether they considered a face as Oriental-Korean or European-American. For race distinction as an implicit task, the fusiform face areas (FFA) and the right parahippocampal gyrus had a greater response to the presentation of Oriental-Korean faces than for the European-American faces, but in the conscious race distinction between Oriental-Korean and European-American faces, there was no significant difference observed in the FFA. These results suggest that different activation in the fusiform regions and right parahippocampal gyrus resulting from superiority of same-race memory could have implicitly taken place by the physiological processes of face recognition.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.161-170
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• 2009

Purpose : A parallel imaging method provides us to improve temporal resolution to obtain three-dimensional (3D) MR images. The objective of this study was to optimize three 3D MRI techniques by adjusting 2D SESNE factors of the parallel imaging method in phantom and human brain. Materials and Methods : With a 3 Tesla MRI system and an 8-channel phase-array sensitivity-encoding (SENSE) coil, three 3D MRI techniques of 3D T1-weighted imaging (3D T1WI), 3D T2-weighted imaging (3D T2WI) and 3D fluid attenuated inversion recovery (3D FLAIR) imaging were optimized with adjusting SESNE factors in a water phantom and three human brains. The 2D SENSE factor was applied on the phase-encoding and the slice-encoding directions. Signal-to-noise ratio(SNR), percent signal reduction rate(%R), and contrast-to-noise ratio(CNR) were calculated by using signal intensities obtained in specific regions-of-interest (ROI). Results : In the phantom study, SENSE factor = 3 was provided in 0.2% reduction of signals against without using SENSE with imaging within 5 minutes for 3D T1WI. SENSE factor = 2 was provided in 0.98% signal reduction against without using SENSE with imaging within 5 minutes for 3D T2WI. SENSE factor = 4 was provided in 0.2% signal reduction against without using SENSE with imaging around 6 minutes for 3D FLAIR. In the human brain study, SNR and CNR were higher with SENSE factors = 3 than 4 for all three imaging techniques. Conclusion : This study was performed to optimize 2D SENSE factors in the three 3D MRI techniques that can be scanned in clinical time limitations with minimizing SNR reductions. Without compromising SNR and CNR, the optimum 2D SENSE factors were 3 and 4, yielding the scan time of about 5 to 6 minutes. Further studies are necessary to optimize 3D MRI techniques in other areas in human body.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.166-176
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• 2002

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of visual activation and quantitative analysis of regional cerebral blood flow. Visual activation was known to increase regional cerebral blood flow in the visual cortex in occipital lobe. We evaluated that change in the distribution of $^{99m}Tc-HMPAO$ (Hexamethyl propylene amine oxime) to reflect in regional cerebral blood flow. Materials and Methods: The six volunteers were injected with 925 MBq (mean ages: 26.75 years, n=6, 3men, 3women) underwent MRI and $^{99m}Tc-HMPAO$ SPECT during a rest state with closed eyes and visual stimulated with 8 Hz LED. We delineate the legion of interest and calculated the mean count per voxel in each of the fifteen slices to quantitative analysis. The ROI to whole brain ratio and regional index was calculated pixel to pixel subtraction visual non-activation image from visual activation image and constructed brain map using a statistical parameter map (SPM99). Results: The mean regional cerebral blood flow was increased due to visual stimulation. The increase rate of the mean regional cerebral blood flow which of the activation region in primary visual cortex of occipital lobe was $32.50{\pm}5.67%$. The significant activation sites using a statistical parameter of brain constructed a rendering image and image fusion with SPECT and MRI. Conclusion: Visual activation was revealed significant increase through quantitative analysis in visual cortex. Activation region was certified in Talairach coordinate and primary visual cortex (Ba17),visual association area (Ba18,19) of Brodmann.

• Proceedings of the Korean Information Science Society Conference
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• 2011.06c
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• pp.373-376
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• 2011

얼굴 영상에서 구성요소(눈썹, 눈, 코, 입 등)의 존재에 따라 보는 사람의 얼굴 인식 정확도는 큰 영향을 받는다. 이는 인간의 뇌에서 얼굴 정보를 처리하는 과정은 얼굴 전체 영역 뿐만 아니라, 부분적인 얼굴 구성요소의 특징들도 고려함을 말한다. 비음수 행렬 분해(NMF: Non-negative Matrix Factorization)는 이러한 얼굴 영역에서 부분적인 특징들을 잘 표현하는 기저영상들을 찾아내는데 효과적임을 보여주었으나, 각 기저영상들의 중요도는 알 수 없었다. 본 논문에서는 NMF로 찾아진 기저영상들에 대응되는 인코딩 정보를 SLR(Sparse Logistic Regression)을 이용하여 성별 인식에 중요한 부분 영역들을 찾고자 한다. 실험에서는 주성분분석(PCA)과 비교를 통해 NMF를 이용한 기저영상 및 특징 벡터 추출이 좋은 성능을 보여주고, 대표적 이진 분류 알고리즘인 SVM(Support Vector Machine)과 비교를 통해 SLR을 이용한 특징 벡터 선택이 나은 성능을 보여줌을 확인하였다. 또한 SLR로 확인된 각 기저영상에 대한 가중치를 통하여 인식 과정에서 중요한 얼굴 영역들을 확인할 수 있다.

• Journal of Korean Society of Neurocognitive Rehabilitation
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.9-18
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• 2018

The research has sought to examine the effect of cognition training using smart device application games on the cognition function of traumatic brain injury patients. The research was conducted to the seventeen traumatic brain injury patients with slight symptoms who were treated with occupational therapy. The patients were divided into the two groups, nine for the experimental group and eight for the control group. The experimental group was assigned to conduct cognition training using smart device application games and traditional cognition training for fifteen minutes each, and the control group has conducted the traditional cognition training for 30 minutes. All arbitrations were conducted for 30 minutes a day, five times a week and for four weeks. To assess the cognitive function, Korean Mini-Mental State Examination (K-MMSE), Lowenstein Occupational Therapy Cognitive Assessment (LOTCA) and visual memory 1 and 2 of Motor-free Visual Perception Test-3 (MVPT-3) were measured before and after the intervention. In the comparison of the change between the two groups, the experimental groups showed a significant improvement in the visual memory of Motor-free Visual Perception Test-3 and remembrance section of the Korean Mini-Mental State Examination (p<.05). The result of this research has confirmed that the cognition training using the smart device application game can make the positive change to the visual memory of the traumatic brain injury patients more than the traditional cognition training.

• Proceedings of the Optical Society of Korea Conference
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• 2009.10a
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• pp.151-152
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• 2009

최근 신경과학 분야에서 대뇌피질 영역 간 연관성 분석은 신경학적 질병 (자폐증, 간질, 정신 분열증)의 분석 및 진단에 적용되고 있다. 기존 대뇌피질 영역 간 연관성 분석은 뇌전도 (EEG), 기능적 자기공명영상 (fMRI), 뇌자도 (MEG)등이 이용되었지만, 뇌전도의 낮은 공간분해능, 기능적 자기공명영상의 낮은 시분해능 등은 영역 간 연관성 분석에 단점으로 작용되고 있다. 반면, 근적외선 분광법(NIRS)은 대뇌피질에서의 혈류변화(oxy-, deoxy-hemoglobin)를 비침습적이며 빠른 시분해능으로 측정할 수 있는 방법으로 최근 신경과학 분야에 응용되고 있다 [1-2]. 본 논문에서는 근적외선 분광법을 이용한 대뇌피질영역 간 연관성 분석의 효용성을 입증하기 위해, 쥐의 수염자극 시 대응되는 지역 (일차-, 이차 체감각피질, 일차 운동피질 영역)에서의 혈류변화 신호의 영역 간 연관성 분석을 하였다. 본 연구결과에 의하면 수염자극 시 일차-, 이차 체감각피질 영역에서의 방향성은 확인할 수 없었고, 일차-, 이차 체감각피질 영역에서 일차 운동피질영역으로의 방향성은 확인할 수 있었다. 본 결과는 기존 수염자극 시 활성화되는 전기신호의 패턴과 일치하며, 향후 신경과학적 질병의 분석 및 진단에 근적외선을 이용한 대뇌피질 영역 간 연관성 분석이 유용할 수 있음을 보여준다.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.40-46
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• 2009

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to investigate the quantitative evaluation of the corticospinal tract (CST) at the multiple levels by using functional MRI (fMRI) co-registered to diffusion tensor tractography (DTT). Materials and Methods : Ten normal subjects without any history of neurological disorder participated in this study. fMRI was performed at 1.5 T MR scanner using hand grasp-release movement paradigm. DTT was performed by using DtiStudio on the basis of fiber assignment continuous tracking algorithm (FACT). The seed region of interest (ROI) was drawn in the area of maximum fMRI activation during the motor task of hand grasp-release movement on a 2-D fractional anisotropy (FA) color map, and the target ROI was drawn in the cortiocospinal portion of anterior lower pons. We have drawn five ROIs for the measurement of FA and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) along the corona radiata (CR) down to the medulla. Results : The contralateral primary sensorimotor cortex (SM1) was mainly found to be activated in all subjects. DTT showed that tracts originated from SM1 and ran to the medulla along the known pathway of the CST. In all subjects, FA values of the CST were higher at the level of the midbrain and posterior limb of internal capsule (PLIC) than the level of others. Conclusion : Our study showed that co-registered fMRI and DTT has elucidated the state of CST on 3-D and analyzed the quantitative values of FA and ADC at the multiple levels. We conclude that co-registered fMRI and DTT may be applied as a useful tool for clarifying and investigating the state of CST in the patients with brain injury.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Emotion and Sensibility Conference
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• 2003.05a
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• pp.107-110
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• 2003

본 연구에서는 EEG를 이용하여 정신집중 시, 뇌 기능의 변화를 알아보았다. 실험은 건강한 남녀 고교생 9명을 대상으로 EEG는 Fp1. Fp2, F3, F4, P3, P4, T5, T6, O1, O2의 10위치에 대하여 정신집중 작업 진의 3분과 작업 시 30분간을 측정하였다. 작업은 PC를 이용하였으며 모니터 상의 움직임에 집중하고 목표자극을 탐지하였을 때 신속하게 적절한 반응키를 누르도록 하였다. 각 주파수 대역은 theta2와 (6.0-8.0Hz), alpha1파 (8.0-10.0Hz), alpha2파(10.0-12.0Hz)로 구분하였으며 비대칭지수를 이용하여 분석하였다. 그 결과, 정신집중 작업 시 theta1, theta2, alpha1대역에서 두정엽의 우반구과 측두엽 및 후두엽의 좌반구영역이 우세하였다. 이들 영역은 시갈, 지각, 움직임 기능을 수행하며 theta2파가 주의, alpha1파가 각성 관련이다. 이상의 결과에서 두정엽의 우반구와 측두엽 및 후두엽의 좌반구영역의 theta1파, theta2파, alpha1파가 정신집중 작업 시 중요한 역할을 담당하는 것으로 나타났다.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.147-156
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• 1988

알쯔하이머병 환자 11명, 우울증 환자 7명 그러고 정상 대조군 12명을 대상으로 $^{99m}Tc-HMPAO$ 뇌 SPECT를 이용하여 국소 뇌혈류 분포를 분석하여 다음과 같은 결과를 얻었다. 1) SPECT소견은 정상 대조군과 우울증군에서는 모두 정상이 있으나 알쯔하이머병군에서는 7명은 양측 측두엽 및 두정엽에, 3명은 편측 측두엽 및 두정엽에 그리고 1명은 전두엽에 뇌혈류 감소의 소견을 보였다. 2) 대뇌반구간 혈류분포의 변화를 비교하는 지수인 Cerebral asymmetry index는 정상 대조군에서 $0.08{\pm}0.03$, 알쯔하이머병군에서는 $0.11{\pm}0.04$ 그리고 우울증군에서는 $0.09{\pm}0.03$으로서 세 군간에 유의한 차이가 없었다. 3) 소뇌반구간 혈류분포의 변화를 비교하는 지수인 Percent index of cerebellar asymmetry는 정상 대조군에서 $0.4{\pm}0.7%$, 알쯔하이머병군에서 $-0.7{\pm}0.08%$ 그리고 우울증군에서 $-0.7{\pm}0.7%$로서 세군 간에 유의한 차이는 없었다. 4) 소뇌 계수치를 대조값으로 각 영역별 혈류분포의 변화정도를 비교하는 지수인 Region to cerebellum ratio는 우울증군에서는 정상 대조군과 유의한 차이를 보이지 않았으나 알쯔하이머병군에서는 양측 두정엽과 측두엽에서 유의한 감소를 보였다(p<0.05). 이상의 결과로 $^{99m}Tc-HMPAO$ 뇌 SPECT는 알쯔하이머병의 진단에 있어서 유용한 방법임을 알 수 있었다.

• Journal of KIISE:Software and Applications
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• v.32 no.7
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• pp.612-624
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• 2005

In this paper, we propose a surface-based registration using a gaussian weighted distance map for PET-CT brain image fusion. Our method is composed of three main steps: the extraction of feature points, the generation of gaussian weighted distance map, and the measure of similarities based on weight. First, we segment head using the inverse region growing and remove noise segmented with head using region growing-based labeling in PET and CT images, respectively. And then, we extract the feature points of the head using sharpening filter. Second, a gaussian weighted distance map is generated from the feature points in CT images. Thus it leads feature points to robustly converge on the optimal location in a large geometrical displacement. Third, weight-based cross-correlation searches for the optimal location using a gaussian weighted distance map of CT images corresponding to the feature points extracted from PET images. In our experiment, we generate software phantom dataset for evaluating accuracy and robustness of our method, and use clinical dataset for computation time and visual inspection. The accuracy test is performed by evaluating root-mean-square-error using arbitrary transformed software phantom dataset. The robustness test is evaluated whether weight-based cross-correlation achieves maximum at optimal location in software phantom dataset with a large geometrical displacement and noise. Experimental results showed that our method gives more accuracy and robust convergence than the conventional surface-based registration.