• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• /
• 제8권1호
• /
• pp.9-16
• /
• 2004

목적 : 운동, 감각, 단어형성 , 듣고이해하기, 기억력과제를주면서 기능적자기공명영상를 이용하여 부운동영역의 기능적 지도화를 한다. 대상 및 방법 : 16명의 오른손잡이 정상지원자를 대상으로 1.5 T자기공명영상기기를 사용하여 전뇌를 BOLD EPI를 기능적자기공명영상을 얻었다. 왼손가락운동, 고온감각, 단어형성 , 듣고이해하기 그리고 기억자극을 주면서 5번의 자극기와 휴식기를 반복하여 영상을 얻었다. p = 0.0001의 역치를 사용하여 활성화된 뇌의 지도화를 시행하였고 역치 이상의 뇌활성화가 보이는 부위를 MNI 공간으로 표시하여 각각의 자극에 대한 해부학적 위치와 활성화를 분석하였다. 결과 : 16명의 정상지원자 중 부운동영역의 활성화는 운동자극시 16명 모두에서, 감각자극시 11명, 단어형성자극시 15명, 듣고이해하기자극시 5명, 그리고 기억자극시 15명에서 보였다. 부운동영역중 앞부분의 활성화는 단어형성자극과 기억자극시 보였으며, 뒤부분의 활성화는 운동과 감각자극시 측정되었다. 운동과 감각자극시 자극부위와 반대편의 부운동영역에서 활성화, 그리고 단어형성자극과 기억자극시 왼쪽반구의 활성화가 주로 측정되었다. 결론 : 부운동영역은 운동과 감각 그리고 단어형성기능과 기억기능에 연관이 있는 뇌부위이며, 부운동영역중에서도 각각의 기능에 해당하는 부위가 존재한다.

• 대한방사선기술학회지:방사선기술과학
• /
• 제32권2호
• /
• pp.183-194
• /
• 2009

목 적 : 정상인 여성을 대상으로 기능적 자기공명영상법(functional magnetic resonance imaging : fMRI)을 이용하여 성적 흥분반응과 관련되는 시각자극과 삼음교(SP6, 三陰交) 경혈자극 의한 대뇌 활성화 영역의 차이점을 밝히고, 나아가서는 성적흥분의 기전을 신경해부학적인 측면에서 규명하고자 하였다. 대상 및 방법 : 성기능이 정상적인 오른손잡이 여자 21명(19$\sim$32세 : 평균 22세)을 대상으로 3.0 Tesla MR scanner를 이용하여 fMRI 영상을 얻었다. 성적 흥분을 유도하기 위한 패러다임은 3분간의 에로틱 비디오 시청과 삼음교(SP6)자침에 의한 자극을 주었으며, 자극 전 후에는 각각 1분간의 휴지기를 두었다. 또한 광명혈(GB37) 후방으로 3 cm 위치에 있는 비경혈점에 자극을 주어 경혈(acupoint)과 비경혈(shampoint) 자침에 의한 대뇌의 활성화 양상을 비교하였다. 기능적 자기공명영상의 획득은 AC-PC line을 기준으로 20개의 횡단면으로부터 총 2,000개의 기초영상을 얻었으며, SPM99 프로그램을 이용하여 평균 활성화 영상을 얻었다. 결 과 : 삼음교 경혈과 비경혈의 침자극에 의한 비교실험에서 경혈은 비경혈에 비하여 대뇌 신피질에서 평균 5배, 변연계에서 2배 높은 활성화도를 보였다. 비경혈 자극시에 간뇌의 HTHL, 기저핵의 GLO, AMYG, 그리고 두정엽의 SMG 등에서는 활성화 신호가 관찰되지 않았다. 성적흥분과 관련된 대뇌의 해부학적인 영역을 시각자극과 삼음교 경혈자극 별로 비교 분석한 결과, 두 자극간의 평균 활성화율(activation ratio)은 신피질과 변연계 모두에서 유의한 차이가 없었다(p < 0.05). 반면 평균 활성화도(activity)는 신피질의 경우에는 두 자극간에 유의한 차이를 보이지 않았으나, 변연계의 경우에는 경혈 자극시에 유의하게 더 높은 활성화도를 보였다(p < 0.05). 결 론 : 기능적 자기공명영상법을 이용하여 성적흥분과 관련된 시각자극과 경혈 침술자극에 의하여 유발된 대뇌 활성화 양상의 차이점과 신경해부학적 기전의 차이점을 규명할 수 있었으며, 이러한 결과를 바탕으로 향후 한방의 경혈, 경락 이론을 과학적인 측면에서 입증할 수 있을 것으로 기대한다.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• 제17권1호
• /
• pp.47-56
• /
• 2009

Schizandra chinensis (S. chinensis) exhibits a harmless, 'adaptogen-type' effect leading to improvements in mental performance and learning efficacy in brain. Activated microglia contributes to neuronal injury by releasing neurotoxic products, which make it important to regulate microglial activation to prevent further cytological as well as functional brain damage. However, the effect of S. chinensis on microglial activation has not been examined yet. We have investigated the effects of four compounds (Gomisin A, Gomisin N, Schizandrin and Schizandrol A) from S. chinensis on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced microglial activation. In this study, BV2 microglial cells were activated with LPS and the microglial activation was assessed by up-regulation of activation markers such as nitric oxide (NO), reactive oxygen species (ROS), and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9). The results showed that all four compounds significantly reduced the intracellular level of ROS, the release of NO and MMP-9 as well as LPS-induced phosphorylation of ERK1/2. These results strongly suggested that S. chinensis may be useful to modulate inflammation-mediated brain damage by regulating microglial activation.

• Journal of the Optical Society of Korea
• /
• 제19권3호
• /
• pp.284-296
• /
• 2015

It has been thought that males tend to use their brain hemispheres more laterally than females. However, recent fMRI studies have shown that there may be no difference in brain lateralization between genders. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) presents a unique opportunity to acquire real time measurements of blood oxygenation changes to observe neural activity specific to the brain's left and right hemispheres. Using an in-house built multichannel fNIRS system, brain lateralization was observed from seven males and four females according to specially designed tasks for left and right hemisphere activation. The Pearson correlation coefficient and a modified Lateralization Index metric for continuous wave fNIRS systems were calculated to quantify brain lateralization. The preliminary results point to no significant difference in lateral hemodynamic changes between the genders. However, the correlation of symmetrical channel pairs decreased as the experiments progressed. To further develop this study, the subject's performance and the removal of global interference must be implemented for an improved study of brain lateralization.

• 한국감성과학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 한국감성과학회 2009년도 춘계학술대회
• /
• pp.101-104
• /
• 2009

This study investigated compensatory mechanisms in the brain during a verbal working memory task among people with Alcohol Use Disorders (AUD). A total of 21 college male students participated in the study: eleven AUD participants and 10 normal controls. Study participants were asked to complete the Korean version of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III (K-WAIS-III) prior to the fMRI experiment. Verbal 0-back and 2-back tasks were used to assess brain activities of the participants' verbal working memory. Brain scanning was performed on Siemens SONATA 1.5T Scanner while participants were performing the 0-back and 2-back tasks. Within the AUD group, participants with greater dependency to alcohol (based on DSM-IV criteria) in the past 1 year showed lower mean score on the 'Similarities' of the K-WAIS-III (r=-0.63, p<0.05, N=11). The more participants experienced alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the past 1 year, the lower the score they received on the K-WAIS-III 'Picture Arrangement' (r=-0.69, p<0.05, n=11). The fMRI regression results showed that individuals who present greater degree of alcohol dependency symptoms are likely to show greater brain activation in the bilateral middle frontal gyri (BA 9) during the verbal working memory task. The degree of alcohol withdrawal symptoms were associated with increased brain activation in the left superior and middle frontal gyri (BA8), left precentral gyrus (BA 6), and left inferior parietal lobule (BA 40). The study findings showed that the degree of alcohol abuse/dependence and withdrawal symptoms were associated with decreased cognitive function and increased activations in brain regions particularly important for abstract reasoning (BA 9), central executive (BA 9), or spatial storage (BA 40) during a working memory task. Therefore, these results could support previous studies suggesting that the neural system of people with ADD may adopt a brain compensatory mechanism to maintain normal level of cognitive functions.

• 대한의용생체공학회:의공학회지
• /
• 제36권5호
• /
• pp.177-182
• /
• 2015

The activation of prefrontal cortex of brain during some mental tasks like mental arithmetic induce has been studied using hemodynamic imaging modalities. In this study, we focused on the differentiation of activated area in local prefrontal brain caused by the different mental activities as well as evaluating the classification accuracy of in-house fNIRS system. The study preliminarily validated the device including the signal quality and tightness of contact between detectors and prefrontal area. Experimental results of mental tasks on 5 subjects showed the subject dependent tendencies in correlated prefrontal activation and the area of highest accuracy.

• 한국환경과학회지
• /
• 제31권11호
• /
• pp.967-980
• /
• 2022

Mentha spicata, Ocimum basilium L., and Rosemarinus officinalis L. were selected as subjects for the study, and analysis of rosmarinic acid contents by HPLC analysis and the fragrance components of each herb were compared by GC-MS analysis. It was prepared and cultivated in a herb farm located in Sacheonjin-ri, Gangneung-si in 2022 (Fig. 1) before flowering, collected in the summer, stored at minus 20℃, and dried 50 g each. The analysis was requested to the NICEM analysis room of Seoul National University to obtain the test results. Through the above study, HPLC showed that the content of rosmarinic acid was 555.53 mg/Kg, which was absolute, 27.12% in rosemary for 1,8-cineol in GC-MS, and 32.44% in linalool in sweet basil. For eugenol, 23.11% in sweet basil and 19.92% in rosemary were found in α-pinene. Through this study, it was verified that spearmint, sweet basil, and rosemary contain a large amount of major ingredients that act on concentration or brain activation.

• BMB Reports
• /
• 제49권10호
• /
• pp.529-535
• /
• 2016

The NLRP3 inflammasome is activated by a variety of external or host-derived stimuli and its activation initiates an inflammatory response through caspase-1 activation, resulting in inflammatory cytokine IL-1β maturation and secretion. The NLRP3 inflammasome activation is a kind of innate immune response, most likely mediated by myeloid cells acting as a host defense mechanism. However, if this activation is not properly regulated, excessive inflammation induced by overactivated NLRP3 inflammasome can be detrimental to the host, causing tissue damage and organ dysfunction, eventually causing several diseases. Previous studies have suggested that mitochondrial damage may be a cause of NLRP3 inflammasome activation and autophagy, which is a conserved self-degradation process that negatively regulates NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Recently, mitochondria-selective autophagy, termed mitophagy, has emerged as a central player for maintaining mitochondrial homeostasis through the elimination of damaged mitochondria, leading to the prevention of hyperinflammation triggered by NLRP3 inflammasome activation. In this review, we will first focus on the molecular mechanisms of NLRP3 inflammasome activation and NLRP3 inflammasome-related diseases. We will then discuss autophagy, especially mitophagy, as a negative regulator of NLPP3 inflammasome activation by examining recent advances in research.

• BMB Reports
• /
• 제48권12호
• /
• pp.677-684
• /
• 2015

Cardiovascular function is regulated by the rhythmicity of circadian, infradian and ultradian clocks. Specific time scales of different cell types drive their functions: circadian gene regulation at hours scale, activation-inactivation cycles of ion channels at millisecond scales, the heart's beating rate at hundreds of millisecond scales, and low frequency autonomic signaling at cycles of tens of seconds. Heart rate and rhythm are modulated by a hierarchical clock system: autonomic signaling from the brain releases neurotransmitters from the vagus and sympathetic nerves to the heart's pacemaker cells and activate receptors on the cell. These receptors activating ultradian clock functions embedded within pacemaker cells include sarcoplasmic reticulum rhythmic spontaneous Ca²⁺ cycling, rhythmic ion channel current activation and inactivation, and rhythmic oscillatory mitochondria ATP production. Here we summarize the evidence that intrinsic pacemaker cell mechanisms are the end effector of the hierarchical brain-heart circadian clock system.

• 동의신경정신과학회지
• /
• 제10권2호
• /
• pp.71-83
• /
• 1999

This study was to investigate the effects of SUNGSIMJIHWANGTANG(SSJHT) on the blood and brain tissues of aged rats. For the experiment, the aged rats were divided into three groups : Non treated group(NC), distilled water fed group(PC), SSJHT fed group(SSJHT). Each group was fed for ten days before administration of scopolamine. Then, we injected scopolamine intraperitoneally to PC and SSJHT group for 5 days. We observed the changes of their blood cell(WBC, RBC, platelet), blood serum(BUN, creatinine, glucose, uric acid), erythrocyte hemolysis, and the activities of cholinesterase and measured the amounts of malondialdehyde in the serum, catalase, and SOD in the brain tissue. The main results of this investigation are as follows. 1. In respect of the number of WBC, SSJHT group exhibited significant increase in comparison with PC. 2. In respect of the amount of creatinine and uric acid in the blood serum, SSJHT group exhibited significant decrease in comparison with PC. 3. In respect of erythrocyte hemolysis, SSJHT group exhibited significant suppression in comparison with PC. 4. In respect of the activity of cholinesterase in the serum, SSJHT group exhibited significant activation in comparison with PC. 5. In respect of the amounts of malondialdehyde in the serum, SSJHT group exhibited significant decrease in comparison with PC. 6. In respect of the activity of catalase in brain tissue, SSJHT group didn't exhibit significant change in comparison with PC. 7. In respect of the activity of SOD in brain tissue, SSJHT group exhibited significant activation in comparison with PC. As a result of this study, SSJHT is expected to have antiaging effect by suppressing the formation of free radicals, the accumulation of antioxidants and further study needs to be carried on about SSJHT.