• Korean Journal of Cognitive Science
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.397-417
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• 2008

We applied fMRI to examine brain activation during false-belief task in Korean healthy adults. In the first experiment, brain areas including bilateral precuneus, temoporo-parietal junction, left inferior parietal lobule, posterior cingulate, middle frontal gyrus were found during first -order false-belief task. In the second experiment, the left middle frontal gyrus, medial frontal gyrus and right precuneus, middle frontal gyrus, temoporo-parietal junction were activated during second-order false-belief task. These results are compatible with the suggestions that the ways in which adults understand theory of mind stories are universal.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.280-290
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• 2007

Purpose: Gender differences in personality are considered to have biological bases. In an attempt to understand the gender differences of personality on neurobiological bases, we conducted correlation analyses between regional brain glucose metabolism and temperament factors of personality in males and females. Materials and Methods: Thirty-six healthy right-handed volunteers (18 males, 33.8$\pm$17.6 y; 18 females, 36.2$\pm$20.4 y) underwent FDG PET at resting state. Three temperament factors of personality (novelty seeking (NS), harm avoidance (HA), reward dependence (RD)) were assessed using Cloninger's 240-item Temperament and Character Inventory (TCD within 10 days of FOG PET scan. Correlation between regional glucose metabolism and each temperament factor was tested using SPM2. Results: In males, a significant negative correlation between NS score and glucose metabolism was observed in the bilateral superior temporal gyri, the hippocampus and the insula, while it was found in the bilateral middle frontal gyri, the right superior temporal gyrus and the left cingulate cortex and the putamen in females. A positive HA correlation was found in the right midbrain and the left cingulate gyrus in males, but in the bilateral basal ganglia in females. A negative RD correlation was observed in the right middle frontal and the left middle temporal gyri in males, while the correlation was found in the bilateral middle frontal gyri and the right basal ganglia and the superior temporal gyrus in females. Conclusion: These data demonstrate different cortical and subcortical metabolic correlates of temperament factors of personality between males and females. These results may help understand biological substrate of gender differences in personality and susceptibility to neuropsychiatric illnesses.

• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.35-44
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• 2019

Individuals with problematic hypersexual behavior (PHB) evince the inability to control sexual impulses and arousal. Previous studies have identified that these characteristics are related to structural and functional changes in the brain region responsible for inhibitory functions. However, very little research has been conducted on the functional connectivity of these brain areas during the resting state in individuals with PHB. Therefore, this study used functional magnetic resonance imaging devices with the intention of identifying the deficit of the functional connectivity in the executive control network in individuals with PHB during the resting state. Magnetic resonance imaging data were obtained for 16 individuals with PHB and 19 normal controls with similar demographic characteristics. The areas related to the executive control network (LECN, RECN) were selected as the region of interest, and the correlation coefficient with time series signals between these areas was measured to identify the functional connectivity. Between groups analysis was also used. The results revealed a significant difference in the strength of the functional connectivity of the executive control network between the two groups. In other words, decreased functional connectivity was found between the superior/middle frontal gyrus and the caudate, and between the superior/middle frontal gyrus and the superior parietal gyrus/angular gyrus in individuals with PHB. In addition, these functional Connectivities related to the severity of hypersexual behavior. The findings of this study suggest that the inability to control sexual impulses and arousal in individuals with PHB might be related to the reduced functional connectivity of executive control circuits.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.1707-1714
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• 2015

The neural bases underlying within or between-language picture naming was investigated by using event-related fMRI. The present suudy explorered the following two goals: The first is to compare cortical activation areas relevant to naming process in native and foreign language, and to decide whether the activation pattern of the foreign word will be the same as native words or not. The next is to find the cerebral areas involved only in alternating language switching between native and foreign language condition. Differential activation patterns were observed for language switching against one-language. Both naming tasks all activated the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) as expected. However the differences in naming between languages were reflected in the activation amount of the LIFG, namely more activation in naming the native language than the foreign language. Especially, naming of the foreign word from English showed the similar area and size in activation with native language suggesting that the process of borrowed noun resembles that of native common noun. And the language switching between languages newly activated the right middle frontal gyrus as well as the left inferior frontal areas. The right middle frontal gyrus engagement in switching conditions obviously identified that right hemisphere is recruited in code switching possibly with respect to meta-cognition controlling language index at a subconscious level.

• Korean Journal of Cognitive Science
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.159-178
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• 2007

Lee & Kang (2002) showed that simultaneous phonological rehearsal significantly delayed the performance of multiplication but not subtraction, whereas holding an image in the memory delayed subtraction but not multiplication. This result indicated that arithmetic function is related to working memory in a subsystem-specific manner. The aim of the current study was to examine the neural correlates of previous finding using fMRI. For this goal, dual task conditions that required suppression or no suppression were manipulated. In general, several areas were more activated in the interference conditions than in the less interference conditions, although both conditions were dual condition. More important finding is that the specific areas activated in the phonological suppression rendition were right inferior frontal gyrus, left angular, and inferior parietal lobule, while the areas activated in the other condition were mainly in the right superior temporal gyrus and anterior cingulate gyrus. Furthermore, the areas activated in the phonological or visual less suppression condition were right medial frontal gyrus, left middle frontal gyrus, and bilateral medial frontal gyri, anterior cingulate cortices, and parahippocampal gyri, respectively. These results revealed that sharing the processing code invokes interference, and its neural basis.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.18-27
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to identify different cerebral areas of the human brain associated with rural and urban picture stimulation using a 3.0 Tesla functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and further to investigate the human suitability for rural and urban environments. A total of 27 right-handed participants (mean age: $27.3{\pm}3.7$) underwent fMRI study on a 3.0T MR scanner. The brain activation patterns were induced by visual stimulation with each rural and urban sceneries. The participants were divided into two groups as 26 subjects favorable to rural scenery and 14 subjects unfavorable to urban scenery based on their filled-in questionnaire. The differences of the brain activation in response to two extreme types of pictures by the two sample t-test were characterized as follows: the activation areas observed in rural scenery over urban were the insula, middle frontal gyrus, precuneus, caudate nucleus, superior parietal gyrus, superior occipital gyrus, fusiform gyrus, and globus pallidus. In urban scenery over rural, the inferior frontal gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus, postcentral gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, amygdala, and posterior cingulate gyrus were activated. The fMRI patterns also clearly show that rural scenery elevated positive emotion such as happiness and comfort. On the contrary, urban scenery elevated negative emotion, resulting in activation of the amygdala which is the key region for the feelings of fear, anxiety and unpleasantness. This study evaluated differential cerebral areas of the human brain associated with rural and urban picture stimulation using a 3.0 Tesla fMRI. These findings will be useful as an objective evaluation guide to human suitability for ecological environments that are related to brain activation with joy, anger, sorrow and pleasure.