• Proceedings of the KSAR Conference
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• 2003.06a
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• pp.80-80
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• 2003

Huntington's disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor, cognitive, and psychiatric symptoms, accompanied by marked cell death in the striatum and cortex. Stereotaxic injection of quinolinic acid (QA) into striatum results in a degeneration of GABAergic neurons and exhibits abnormal motor behaviors typical of the illness. The objective of this study was carried out to obtain basic information about whether parthenogenetic mouse embryonic stem (PmES) cells are suitable for cell replacement therapy of HD. To establish PmES cell lines, hybrid F1 (C57BL/6xCBA/N) mouse oocytes were treated with 7% ethanol for 5 min and cytochalasin-B for 4 hr to initiate spontaneous cleavage. Thus established PmES cells were induced to differentiate using bFGF (20ng/ml) followed by selection of neuronal precursor cells for 8 days in N2 medium. After selection, cells were expanded at the presence of bFGF (20 ng/ml) for another 6 days, then a final differentiation step in N2 medium for 7 days. To establish recipient animal models of HD, young adult mice (7 weeks age ICR mice) were lesioned unilaterally with a stereotaxic injection of QA (60 nM) into the striatum and the rotational behavior of the animals was tested using apomorphine (0.1mg/kg, IP) 7 days after the induction of lesion. Animals rotating more than 120 turns per hour were selected and the differentiated PmES cells (1$\times$10$^4$cells/ul) were implanted into striatum. Four weeks after the graft, immunohistochemical studies revealed the presence of cells reactive to anti-NeuN antibody. However, only a slight improvement of motor behavior was observed. By Nissl staining, cell mass resembling tumor was found at the graft site and near cortex which may explain the slight behavioral improvement. Detailed experiment on cell viability, differentiation and migration explanted in vivo is currently being studied.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.269-277
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• 2019

This study aims to see what changes flower arrangement programs bring to the stress index of elderly people with chronic diseases and its correlation with cognition. Furthermore, seniors from a day care center and a nursing home were compared for the purpose of identifying the effectiveness of flower arrangement activities as a supplementary remedy designed to relieve the symptoms and improve the quality of life of patients with chronic diseases. In this study, 24 seniors with chronic diseases were divided into two groups: Group A consists of 15 seniors from a day care center and Group B consists of nine seniors from a nursing home. Both groups participated in simple flower arrangement activities in 10 sessions. In each session, red and green cut flowers that were preferred by the elderly were provided to elicit and develop their thoughts and behaviors. The results showed that the overall average stress index was significantly reduced from 58.0±11.6 before the program to 50.6±17.1 after the program (p = .037). This study examined that the program was more effective for Group A (p = .021) than for Group B (p = .678). Results of the correlation analysis showed that there was no correlation between cognitive function and stress index (p = .569), but that the activity was more effective for Group A. This study shows that arranging flowers effectively lowers the stress index of elderly people with chronic diseases. Also, sharing the outcomes of such activities with others or continuously caring for the flowers even after the activity can maximize the effectiveness of the therapy and rehabilitation. Thus, the study concluded that the program needs to be applied continuously, not in the short-term, in order to relieve or treat the symptoms of elderly patients with chronic diseases.

• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.1-28
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• 2020

This case study aimed to investigate changes in adolescents' awareness of the motivation behind their excessive internet gaming after group music psychotherapy. Five middle school students participated in six 60-minute group sessions over 4 weeks. The group music psychotherapy program was developed to help participants understand their implicit reasons for excessive internet gaming. Verbal responses were obtained from pre-program and post-program interviews and original lyrics created by participants during program were collected for analysis. Obtained data were analyzed in terms of emotional and cognitive aspects in relation to the participants' awareness of the motivation behind their excessive gaming. The results showed that song writing as creative musical process allowed participants to be aware of positive and negative influence of gaming on themselves and express their motivation to change their perception on gaming behavior. Also, the participants reported that the use of musical product for their daily lives could be an effective coping strategy to manage their gaming behaviors and an alternative for gaming. The findings from this study support that group music psychotherapy can be an effective approach to promote awareness of adolescents' motives for excessive internet gaming and to help adolescents better manage their gaming behaviors.