• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• 제22권3호
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• pp.435-441
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• 2021

Objective: To evaluate the usefulness of the ventricular volume percentage quantified using three-dimensional (3D) brain computed tomography (CT) data for interpreting serial changes in hydrocephalus. Materials and Methods: Intracranial and ventricular volumes were quantified using the semiautomatic 3D threshold-based segmentation approach for 113 brain CT examinations (age at brain CT examination ≤ 18 years) in 38 patients with hydrocephalus. Changes in ventricular volume percentage were calculated using 75 serial brain CT pairs (time interval 173.6 ± 234.9 days) and compared with the conventional assessment of changes in hydrocephalus (increased, unchanged, or decreased). A cut-off value for the diagnosis of no change in hydrocephalus was calculated using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. The reproducibility of the volumetric measurements was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient on a subset of 20 brain CT examinations. Results: Mean intracranial volume, ventricular volume, and ventricular volume percentage were 1284.6 ± 297.1 cm³, 249.0 ± 150.8 cm³, and 19.9 ± 12.8%, respectively. The volumetric measurements were highly reproducible (intraclass correlation coefficient = 1.0). Serial changes (0.8 ± 0.6%) in ventricular volume percentage in the unchanged group (n = 28) were significantly smaller than those in the increased and decreased groups (6.8 ± 4.3% and 5.6 ± 4.2%, respectively; p = 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively; n = 11 and n = 36, respectively). The ventricular volume percentage was an excellent parameter for evaluating the degree of hydrocephalus (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve = 0.975; 95% confidence interval, 0.948-1.000; p < 0.001). With a cut-off value of 2.4%, the diagnosis of unchanged hydrocephalus could be made with 83.0% sensitivity and 100.0% specificity. Conclusion: The ventricular volume percentage quantified using 3D brain CT data is useful for interpreting serial changes in hydrocephalus.

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

• BMB Reports
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• 제41권1호
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• pp.23-28
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• 2008

The altered amino acid (AA) levels as neurotransmitter closely correlate to neurodegenerative conditions including Alzheimer's disease (AD). Target profiling analysis of nineteen AAs in brain cortex samples from three Tg2576 mice as AD model and three littermate mice as control model was achieved as their N(O,S)-ethoxycarbonyl/tert-butyldimethylsilyl derivatives by gas chromatography. Subsequently, star pattern recognition analysis was performed on the brain AA levels of AD mice after normalization to the corresponding control median values. As compared to control mice, $\gamma$-aminobutyric acid among ten AAs found in brain samples was significantly reduced (P < 0.01) while leucine was significantly elevated (P < 0.02) in AD mice. The normalized AA levels of the three AD mice were transformed into distorted star patterns which was different from the decagonal shape of control median. The present method allowed visual discrimination of the three AD mice from the controls based on the ten normalized AA levels.

• 한국환경과학회지
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• 제32권10호
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• pp.713-722
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• 2023

This study was conducted to examine the effects of care farming activities on the brain waves of adults with developmental disabilities from September 2022 to December 2022, with a total of 16 sessions held once a week. For 28 adults with developmental disabilities, 15 participants in the care farm program and 13 participants who did not participate were used as the control group. Before and after the care farming activities, participants' self-esteem, happiness levels, and brain function indices were measured through surveys and electroencephalography (EEG). Consequently, the self-esteem of the participants in the experimental group significantly increased after the activity, and as for the brain function index, the left brain activity index related to stress, attention, brain function, and emotional state increased compared to the control group in the experimental group of adults with developmental disabilities, especially intellectual disabilities. Notably, the effect of care farming activities was greater for women than for men with intellectual disabilities. Therefore, considering the differential effects of care farming activities based on the type of developmental disability and sex, it is deemed advantageous to primarily apply these activities to women with intellectual disabilities in order to maximize the healing effect of care farming.

• International Journal of Stem Cells
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• 제16권4호
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• pp.438-447
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• 2023

Recently, ex-vivo gene therapy has emerged as a promising approach to enhance the therapeutic potential of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) by introducing functional genes in vitro. Here, we explored the need of using selection markers to increase the gene delivery efficiency and evaluated the potential risks associated with their use in the manufacturing process. We used MSCs/CD that carry the cytosine deaminase gene (CD) as a therapeutic gene and a puromycin resistance gene (PuroR) as a selection marker. We evaluated the correlation between the therapeutic efficacy and the purity of therapeutic MSCs/CD by examining their anti-cancer effect on co-cultured U87/GFP cells. To simulate in vivo horizontal transfer of the PuroR gene in vivo, we generated a puromycin-resistant E. coli (E. coli/PuroR) by introducing the PuroR gene and assessed its responsiveness to various antibiotics. We found that the anti-cancer effect of MSCs/CD was directly proportional to their purity, suggesting the crucial role of the PuroR gene in eliminating impure unmodified MSCs and enhancing the purity of MSCs/CD during the manufacturing process. Additionally, we found that clinically available antibiotics were effective in inhibiting the growth of hypothetical microorganism, E. coli/PuroR. In summary, our study highlights the potential benefits of using the PuroR gene as a selection marker to enhance the purity and efficacy of therapeutic cells in MSC-based gene therapy. Furthermore, our study suggests that the potential risk of horizontal transfer of antibiotics resistance genes in vivo can be effectively managed by clinically available antibiotics.

• 생물정신의학
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• 제23권2호
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• pp.57-62
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• 2016

Criminology has been understood within a sociological framework until the emergence of neurocriminology, which describes, understands and predicts criminal behaviors from a neurobiological point of view. Not only using biological factors including genes and hormones to understand criminal behaviors, but also using neuroimaging techniques, the field of neurocriminology aims to delve into both structural and functional differences in the brain of individuals with aggression, antisocial personalities, and even the criminals. Various studies have been conducted based on this idea, however, there still are limitations for the knowledge from these studies to be used in the court. In this review article, we provide an overview of the various research in neurocriminology, and provide insight into the future direction and implication of the field.

• 동의생리병리학회지
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• 제19권6호
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• pp.1496-1503
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• 2005

This study aims to define the relationship between brain and heart through several literatures about oriental medicine and the conclusions are as follows. Heart in oriental medicine is called as Sinmyeongjishim(神明之心) which has a close connection with Mind, Consciousness, Emotion, and Physiological instinct of Drain in modern medicine. According to Oriental medicine, Brain stores Wonsin(元神) as Heart stores mind(神). Heart is where mind rests whereas Brain is where mind reveals. The external evidences that prove the relationship of Heart and Mind are as follows: First, with ears, eyes, mouth, and nose the subject of cognition is recognized as Sinmyeongjishim(神明之心). Second, Bulin(不仁), which means decreased movement power and sensibility of limbs, proves that Sinmyeongjishim(神明之心) is involved with movement power and sensibility of limbs. The physiological evidences that prove the relationship of Heart and Mind are as follows; First, Heart as the operation of Sinmyeongjishim(神明之心) manages language. Second, Heart is related with Tongue. Third, Heart is linked to Ears through the ear hole. Fourth, Heart is a store of Mind. Fifth, the five viscera control emotional and psychological activities. The pathological evidence of the relationship of Heart and Mind is that the symptoms of heart disease which are related to Sinmyeongjishim(神明之心) are also related to the functions of Brain. Though Brain has a close connection with Heart in oriental medicine, it is recognized that there are distinctive symptoms of disease of Brain and Hyeolyookjishim(血肉之心) respectively. The relationship of Heart and Brain has been researched in this study, even though there are not enough written materials about oriental medicine. But the fact that the majority of Heart operation is deeply connected with Brain activities cannot be denied. Therefore the research of Heart should be done as well as Brain in the clinical study of Brain.

• 한국엔터테인먼트산업학회논문지
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• 제13권6호
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• pp.277-286
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• 2019

본 연구의 목적은 전산화 인지재활과 전통적 인지훈련이 경도 외상성 뇌손상 환자의 작업기억과 실행기능에 미치는 영향을 탐색하기 위함이다. 본 연구는 재활병원에서 재활치료를 받는 경도 외상성 뇌손상 환자 20명이 참여하였다. 대상자들은 실험군 10명과 대조군 10명으로 할당되었다. 실험군은 전산화 인지재활과 전통적인 인지훈련을 30분씩 60분을 받았으며, 대조군은 전통적인 인지훈련을 60분 수행하였다. 두 군은 하루 60분, 주 5회, 4주 동안 배정된 훈련을 수행하였다. 작업기억과 실행기능을 평가하기 위하여, 숫자외우기 검사(정방향, 역방향)와 MVPT-3의 시각기억, 그리고 선추적 검사와 스트룹 검사 A와 B를 중재 전과 후에 실시하였다. 두 군 간 변화량 비교에서 실험군은 대조군보다 시각기억과 스트룹 검사 A에서 유의하게 더 큰 향상을 보였다. 이러한 결과는 전산화 인지재활과 전통적 인지훈련이 전통적인 인지훈련보다 작업기억과 실행기능에 긍정적인 변화를 제공할 수 있음을 시사한다.

• 재활치료과학
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• 제8권4호
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• pp.41-51
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• 2019

목적 : 본 예비 연구는 가상현실 기반의 일상생활활동 훈련이 외상성 뇌손상 환자의 일상생활활동 및 재활동기에 미치는 영향을 알아보고자 한다. 연구방법 : 본 연구는 7명의 외상성 뇌손상 환자를 대상으로 중재 전-후 설계를 수행하였다. 대상자들은 하루 30분, 주 2~3회, 4주간 가상현실 기반의 일상생활활동 훈련을 수행하였다. 중재 전과 후로 평가를 수행하였다. 측정은 수정바델지수, 기능적 독립척도(인지), 의지 설문지가 평가되었다. 중재 전과 후의 변화는 윌콕슨 부호순위 검정으로 분석하였고, 상관관계는 스피어만 상관분석을 이용하였다. 결과 : 중재 후, 외상성 뇌손상 환자는 한국판 수정바델지수에서 유의한 향상을 보였다(p<.05). 기능적 독립척도(인지)와 재활동기는 유의한 변화가 없었다(p>.05). 기능적 독립척도(인지)는 재활동기와 유의한 상관이 있었다(p<.05, r=.755). 기능적 독립척도(인지)의 사회인지영역은 재활동기와 유의한 상관이 있었다(p<.05, r=826). 결론 : 가상현실 기반의 일상생활활동 훈련은 일상생활활동 수행능력을 향상시킬 수 있으나, 사회인지와 재활동기의 개선여부가 가능한지에 대해서는 연구가 더 필요하다.

• 생물정신의학
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• 제22권1호
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• pp.20-27
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• 2015

Objectives It is increasingly thought that the human cerebellum plays an important role in emotion and cognition. Although recent evidence suggests that the cerebellum may also be implicated in fear learning, only a limited number of studies have investigated the cerebellar abnormalities in panic disorder. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cerebellar gray matter deficits and their clinical correlations among patients with panic disorder. Methods Using a voxel-based morphometry approach with a high-resolution spatially unbiased infratentorial template, regional cerebellar gray matter density was compared between 23 patients with panic disorder and 33 healthy individuals. Results The gray matter density in the right posterior-superior (lobule Crus I) and left posterior-inferior (lobules Crus II, VIIb, VIIIa) cerebellum was significantly reduced in the panic disorder group compared to healthy individuals (p < 0.05, false discovery rate corrected, extent threshold = 100 voxels). Additionally, the gray matter reduction in the left posterior-inferior cerebellum (lobule VIIIa) was significantly associated with greater panic symptom severity (r = -0.55, p = 0.007). Conclusions Our findings suggest that the gray matter deficits in the posterior cerebellum may be involved in the pathogenesis of panic disorder. Further studies are needed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the cerebro-cerebellar network in panic disorder.