• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• 제23권2호
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• pp.89-103
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• 2006

Objectives: Recently, the effect of acupuncture has been approved not only in the East but also in the West, so the interest on acupuncture was greatly improved. Especially, functional magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI) was embossed as the study tool for the mechanism of acupuncture noninvasively and many studies on the mechanism of acupuncture using fMRI were carried out. We archived the fMRI study on the brain activity induced by manual acupuncture at BL62(申脈). Methods: The study was the acupuncture at BL62(申脈) and we acquired 9 fMRI results from 6 persons$(age\;20{\sim}30,\;4\;male\;and\;2\;female)$. These studies employed The block design for mapping brain activity and acupuncture was perfomed at BL62(申脈) on the left foot. Results: The brain related motor function was cerebellum, basal ganglia and cerebral cortex and thalamus connected these elements. In the result of this study, the regions of significant activation in the cerebellum was centered on the spinocerebellum in the anterior lobe, so we presumed that this result showed the input of stimulation by the acupuncture on BL62(申脈). But basal ganglia and cerebral cortex showed the regions of significant activation in the left larger than the right and regions of the cerebral cortex was the motor and sensory cortex. Such a result explained that acupuncture at BL62(申脈) could have influence the motor function and acupuncture at left BL62(申脈) could affect the right side through the activation of the left basal ganglia and cerebral cortex. Conclusions: In the theory of crossing needling at collaterals(繆刺論), it the pathogenic factor invaded in the Yang Heel channel(陽?脈) that was one of the eight Extra meridians(奇經八脈), we recognized the disease of the collateral channel and used contralateral BL62(申脈) for treatment of the Yang Heel channel(陽?脈). Moreover the result of this study could bear the construction that acupuncture at the left BL62(申脈) treats the contralateral lesion and this construction is related to the theory of crossing needling at collaterals(繆刺論).

• 원예과학기술지
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• 제34권3호
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• pp.472-487
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• 2016

This study aimed to determine the effects of floral fragrances on human brain waves and moods. A total of 44 subjects participated in this experiment. Group 1 consisted of 11 male and 14 female college students with a mean age of 24.5 years (${\pm}2.23$) and Group 2 consisted of 10 males and 9 females with a mean age of 54.3 years (${\pm}2.98$). Subjects were exposed to floral fragrances of Rosa hybrida, 'Hera' (hereafter referred to as "rose"), Cymbidium faberi (hereafter referred to as "orchid"), or odorless control flowers (hereafter referred to as "control"). Experiments took place in three rooms (rose, orchid, and control). Electroencephalographs (EEGs) were recorded during exposure to the odors and the data were processed using quantitative electroencephalographic (QEEG) techniques. The changing EEG patterns were analyzed by brain mapping and compressed spectral arrays, and the subjects' preferences (hedonic evaluations) were quantified with an A1 index. Increased activation of absolute alpha waves was verified on six of the eight EEG channels, with the right frontal and left occipital lobes exhibiting no changes and the left parietal region showing the greatest activation. According to the QEEG measurements in the electrode sites over the frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital lobes, the strongest absolute alpha waves were induced in the parietal lobes, followed by the temporal lobes, with the other lobes showing no significant changes. On brain maps, the orchid fragrance induced greater absolute alpha and absolute mid-beta activities compared with the rose and control fragrances, and the rose fragrance induced high absolute mid-beta activation. To identify emotional responses to floral fragrances, the subjects were requested to fill in a questionnaire and the resulting odor-related emotional descriptors were analyzed using semantic differential and factor analysis. Principal component analysis identified "elegant" as the first principal component describing the floral fragrance, followed by "refreshing" and "aromatic." The subjects gave orchid higher scores for "elegant" and "refreshing," while finding rose more "aromatic." Differences in hedonic evaluation revealed by the A1 index appeared in the 65-115 sec range of scent exposure time. The subjects with ages of around 50 years showed olfactory preferences throughout the entire experimental time of 160 sec, most markedly in the later time segment (115-165 sec), showing an increasing preference with increasing exposure time. We conclude that rose fragrance can improve concentration by creating an aromatic environment conducive to a concentrated and calm state of mind, and orchid fragrance can make people feel pampered and relaxed by creating an elegant and refreshing environment.

• BMB Reports
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• 제49권4호
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• pp.220-225
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• 2016

Cancer cells have different characteristics due to the genetic differences where these unique features may strongly influence the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions. Here, we show that the spontaneous reactivation of extracellular signalregulated kinase (ERK), distinct from conventional ERK activation, represents a potent mechanism for cancer cell survival. We studied ERK1/2 activation in vitro in SW480 colorectal cancer cells. Although ERK signaling tends to be transiently activated, we observed the delayed reactivation of ERK1/2 in epidermal growth factor (EGF)-stimulated SW480 cells. This effect was observed even after EGF withdrawal. While phosphorylated ERK1/2 translocated into the nucleus following its primary activation, it remained in the cytoplasm during late-phase activation. The inhibition of primary ERK1/2 activation or protein trafficking, blocked reactivation and concurrently increased caspase 3 activity. Our results suggest that the biphasic activation of ERK1/2 plays a role in cancer cell survival; thus, regulation of ERK1/2 activation may improve the efficacy of cancer therapies that target ERK signaling.

• 감성과학
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• 제14권2호
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• pp.227-234
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• 2011

본 연구는 정보를 숨기려는 의도가 있을 때의 뇌 가능을 알아보고자 한다. Kubo와 Nittono(2009) 그리고 Verschuere와 동료들(2009)은 P300 진폭을 이용하여 정보를 숨기려는 의도에 대한 연구를 수행하였다. 선행연구에 기초하여, 본 연구는 정보를 숨기려는 '의도'가 있를 때 뇌 기능에 어떤 변화가 나타나는지 관찰하고자 하여 19명의 남자 대학생을 대상으로 실험을 수행하였다. 실험은 실험 참가자 본인의 이름을 숨긴정보로 하여 숨기려는 의도가 있는 조건과 숨기려는 의도가 없는 조건에서 수행하였다. 실험 결과, 숨기려는 의도가 있는 조건에서 숨기려는 의도가 없는 조건에 비해 전측대상이랑(Rt. ACC)과, 좌측 안와전전두피질(Lt. OFC)에서 더 큰 활성화가 관찰되었다. ACC는 선행 fMRI 연구에서 거짓말에 특정적인 처리가 이루어지는 영역으로 알려져 있는 영역이다. OFC는 불안, 공포, 및 죄책감과 같은 정서반응과 관련이 있는 것으로 알려진 영역이다. 숨기려는 의도가 있는 조건에서는 거짓말이 탄로 날지도 모른다는 생각 때문에 불안 반응이 나타나게 되고, 이는 OFC의 활성화와 연관이 있는 것으로 볼 수 있다.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• 제29권3호
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• pp.101-113
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• 2018

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the neural activity of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) patients is different from that of normal individuals when performing aesthetic judgments. Methods: We recruited typical ASD patients without savant skills (ASD group, n=17) and healthy controls (HC group, n=19) for an functional magnetic resonance imaging study. All subjects were scanned while performing aesthetic judgment tasks on two kinds of artwork (magnificent landscape images and fractal images). Differences in brain activation between the two groups were assessed by contrasting neural activity during the tasks. Results: The aesthetic judgment score for all images was significantly lower in the ASD group than in the HC group. During the aesthetic judgment tasks, the ASD group showed less activation than the HC group in the anterior region of the superior frontal gyrus, and more activation in the temporoparietal area and insula, regardless of the type of images being judged. In addition, during the aesthetic judgment task for the fractal images, the ASD group exhibited greater neural activity in the amygdala and the posterior region of the middle/inferior temporal gyrus (Brodmann area 37) than the HC group. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that the brain activation patterns associated with aesthetic experiences in ASD patients may differ from those of normal individuals.

• BMB Reports
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• 제49권2호
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• pp.128-133
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• 2016

Astrocytes play a critical role in normal brain functions and maintaining the brain microenvironment, and defects in astrocytogenesis during neurodevelopment could give rise to severe mental illness and psychiatric disorders. During neuro-embryogenesis, astrocytogenesis involves astrocytic differentiation of neural precursor cells (NPCs) induced by signals from ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) or pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating peptide (PACAP). However, in contrast to the CNTF signaling pathway, the exact mechanism underlying astrocytic differentiation induced by PACAP is unknown. In the present study, we aimed to verify a signaling pathway specific to PACAP-induced astrocytogenesis, using exchange protein directly activated by cAMP2 (Epac2)-knockout mice. We found that PACAP could trigger astrocytic differentiation of NPCs via Epac2 activation and an increase in the intracellular calcium concentration via a calcium ion influx. Taken together, we concluded that astrocytogenesis stimulated by PACAP occurs through a novel signaling pathway independent from CNTF-JAK/STAT signaling, that is the well-known pathway of astrocytogenesis.

• BMB Reports
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• 제49권11호
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• pp.587-589
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• 2016

The circadian clock system enables organisms to anticipate the rhythmic environmental changes and to manifest behavior and physiology at advantageous times of the day. Transcriptional/translational feedback loop (TTFL) is the basic feature of the eukaryotic circadian clock and is based on the rhythmic association of circadian transcriptional activator and repressor. In Drosophila, repression of dCLOCK/CYCLE (dCLK/CYC) mediated transcription by PERIOD (PER) is critical for inducing circadian rhythms of gene expression. Pacemaker neurons in the brain control specific circadian behaviors upon environmental timing cues such as light and temperature cycle. We show that amino acids 657-707 of dCLK are important for the transcriptional activation and the association with PER both in vitro and in vivo. Flies expressing dCLK lacking AA657-707 in $Clk^{out}$ genetic background, homologous to the mouse Clock allele where exon 19 region is deleted, display pacemaker-neuron-dependent perturbation of the molecular clockwork. The molecular rhythms in light-cycle-sensitive pacemaker neurons such as ventral lateral neurons ($LN_vs$) were significantly disrupted, but those in temperature-cycle-sensitive pacemaker neurons such as dorsal neurons (DNs) were robust. Our results suggest that the dCLK-controlled TTFL diversify in a pacemaker-neuron-dependent manner which may contribute to specific functions such as different sensitivities to entraining cues.

• Interdisciplinary Bio Central
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• 제3권1호
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• pp.5.1-5.5
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• 2011

Introduction: Many signal transduction pathways mediate cell's behavior by regulating expression level of involved genes. Abnormal behavior indicates loss of regulatory potential of pathways, and this can be attributed to loss of expression regulation of downstream genes. Therefore, function of pathways should be assessed by activity of a pathway itself and relative activity between a pathway and downstream genes, simultaneously. Results and Discussion: In this study, we suggested a new method to assess pathway's function by introducing concept of 'responsiveness'. The responsiveness was defined as a relative activity between a pathway itself and its downstream genes. The expression level of a downstream gene as a function of an upstream pathway activation characterizes disease status. In this aspect, by using the responsiveness we predicted potential progress in cancer development. We applied our method to predict primary and metastatic status of melanoma cancer. The result shows that the responsiveness-based approach achieves better performance than using gene or pathway information alone. The mean of ROC scores in the responsiveness-based approach was 0.90 for GSE7553 data set, increased more than 40% compared to a gene-based method. Moreover, identifying the abnormal regulatory patterns between pathway and its downstream genes provided more biologically interpretable information compared to gene or pathway based approaches.

• 대한한의학회지
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• 제21권4호
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• pp.84-92
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• 2000

Objectives : The water extract of Sebsaeng-eum(SheShengYin) has been used for treatment of ischemic brain damage in oriental medicine, However, little is known about the mechanism by which the water extract of Sebsaeng-eum(SheShengYin) rescues brain cells from ischemic damages. Methods : To elucidate the protective mechanism on ischemic induced cytotoxicity, We investigated the regulation of LPS and PMA induced iNOS expression in $C_{6}$ glial cells. Results : LPS and PMA treatment for 48 h in $C_{6}$ glial cells markedly induced NO, but treatment of the cells with the water extract of Sebsaeng-eum(SheShengYin) decreased nitrite formation. In addition, LPS and PMA treatment for 48 h induced severe cell death in $C_{6}$ glial cells. However treatment of the cells with the water extract of Sebsaeng-eum(SheSheng Yin) did not induce significant changes compared to the control. LPS and PMA induced iNOS activation in $C_{6}$ glial cells caused chromosomal condensation and fragmentation of nuclei. Conclusions : Taken together, We suggest that the protective effects of the water extract of Sebsaeng-eum(SheShengYin) against ischemic brain damages may be mediated by regulation of iNOS during ischemic condition.

• 감성과학
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• 제18권2호
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• pp.55-64
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• 2015

The aim of the study was to investigate the neural substrates associated with processing anger among young males with alcohol use disorders (AUDs) using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Eighteen individuals with AUD and 15 demographically similar non-abusers participated in the study. Participants were scanned on their brain functioning while they viewed an audio-visual film clip that was previously designed specifically to induce anger emotion, followed by anpsychological assessment. Greater brain activities were detected in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) among subjects with AUD compared to the controls during the exposure to anger-provoking stimuli. Despite the same level of subjective anger during anger induction, the greater activations both in the IFG and dACC regions may suggestthat individuals with AUD have a greater propensity to undergo cognitive control and self-regulation while experiencing anger.