• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.33-38
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• 2019

Psychiatric disorder as dysfunctional behavioural syndrome is a paradoxical phenomenon that is difficult to explain evolutionarily because moderate prevalence rate, high heritability and relatively low fitness are shown. Several evolutionary genetic models have been proposed to address this paradox. In this paper, I explain each model by dividing it into selective neutrality, mutation-selection balance, and balancing selection hypothesis, and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of them. In addition, the feasibility of niche specialization and frequency dependent selection as the plausible explanation about the central paradox is briefly discussed.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.45-51
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• 2017

Anxiety is one of the basic human emotions. From the evolutionary psychology point of view, it is a necessary factor for survival and prosperity of human beings that had been developed throughout time with the history of human survival and development. Anxiety plays the role of protecting one from social or physical threats. In reality, lacking of anxiety showed lots of examples of maladjustments. But the result of over-adjustment, which is overanxious disorder, is definitely disturbing one's survival and growth, and it can lead to anxiety disorder that needs to be treated. Anxiety from the evolutionary psychology point of view, started as a primary adjustment form and it evolves into various types of anxiety disorders that relates to the modern society's characters. Therefore, having the grasp of evolutionary psychology, which can be the base of treating anxiety and anxiety disorders, is very important. So from now on, studies for this aspect would need to be done as integrated and multidisciplinary studies not only by psychiatrists, but by including epidemiologists, psychologists, ecologists, biologists, and neuropsychologists. In this article, the author tried to review and explore the idea of anxiety and anxiety disorders from the evolutionary psychology point of view.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.67-74
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• 2015

So far, most research studying the causality of autism has focused on neurobiological or psychological aspects. However, most studies have dealt with only proximal causality of autism, and there is little research on its ultimate causality. 'Evolutionary perspective', which has received attention recently in various academic fields, suggests several theories regarding the ultimate causality of autism. We reviewed different theories on the evolution of autism, and discussed both the merits and the limitations of the theories.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2022

Objectives In regard to the social competition hypothesis, depression is viewed as an involuntary defeat strategy. A previous study has demonstrated that adaptation in microenvironments can result in a wide range of behavioural patterns including defense activation disorders. Using a simulation model with evolutionary ecological agents, we explore how the fitness of various defence activation traits has changed over time in different environments with high and low social mobility. Methods The Evolutionary Ecological Model of Defence Activation Disorder, which is based on the Marginal Value Theorem, was used to examine changes in relative fitness for individuals with defensive activation disorders after adjusting for social mobility. Results Our study examined the effects of social mobility on fitness by varying the d-values, a measure of depression in the model. With a decline in social mobility, the level of fitness of individuals with high levels of defense activation decreased. We gained insight into the evolutionary influence of varying levels of social mobility on individuals' degrees of depression. In the context of a highly stratified society, the results support a mismatch hypothesis which states that high levels of defence are detrimental. Conclusions Despite the fact that niche specialization in habitats composed of multiple microenvironments can result in diverse levels of defensive activation being evolutionary strategies for stability, decreased social mobility may lead to a decrease in fitness of individuals with highly activated defence modules. There may be a reason behind the epidemic of depression in modern society.

• Korean Journal of Cognitive Science
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.199-217
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• 2019

Evolutionary research on mental disorders is relatively difficult compared to other medical studies. It is because the cause of mental disorder is unclear relative to other medical diseases, various proximate causations are involved. And it is difficult to distinguish cause and effect and to carry out experimental research. Despite these methodological difficulties, it is possible to establish an evolutionary hypothesis on mental disorders based on constructive reductionism, and to demonstrate actual data on the model based on this hypothesis. In this paper, I will discuss some conceptual definitions needed for applying ecological approaches to evolutionary psychiatric research. We will first discuss the appropriate level of explanations and the scope of the study subjects, then discuss the conceptual definition of behaviour and function, dysfunction and the appropriate level of selection.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.83-94
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• 2017

Caregiving for the children seems to be one of the most challenging tasks for the parents who should devote themselves totally despite endangering them. From the evolutionary perspective, this human behavior must have been the advantage in the survival of the species and rooted in ethological origin. John Bowlby, a child psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and great developmental researcher, had formulated the attachment theory linking psychoanalysis and ethology through evolutionary biology. His and later following researchers' outcomes have provided enormous influence on viewing parental caregiving and the insight of human relationships and interventions. This article overviews the attachment theory in terms of the goal oriented cybernetic system to gain the survival advantage of the offspring and investigates the evolutionary origin of the caregiving and attachment from the retiles of the Mesozoic era to the mammalian revolution and finally to the human being. Deeper understanding of the nurturance and adult relationships from the standpoint of evolution can provide clinical utility of awareness of clients' lives.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.123-129
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• 2016

Depression has a relatively high lifetime prevalence rate in spite of a genetic influence on its etiology and a high mortality rate in untreated cases. This suggests the possibility that depression gives us evolutionary benefits which we do not exactly know yet. There have been several hypotheses which tell us what evolutionary advantages depression could give us. The psychic pain hypothesis considers sad or depressed mood as a negative reward just like physical pain which we have to avoid for our protection and survival. The social rank hypothesis holds that depressed mood is very similar to the emotional state of the defeated in social competition which prevents him from further protesting or fighting that might cause additional damage to him. The inclusive fitness hypothesis views suicide as a sacrifice phenomenon to contribute to inclusive fitness. These hypotheses gives us new insights into mood disorders and also some suggestions about the conditions in which depressed mood or suicidal behaviors increase and the ways to reduce them.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.93-111
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• 2023

The authors investigated the artistic characteristics of autistic savant artists, hypotheses on the proximate and ultimate causes of their emergence, recent psychological and other studies about them, and psychological and neuroaesthetic studies about non-savant autistic individuals. The artistic features of autistic savant artists were significantly similar to those of outsider artists. Furthermore, the authors investigated the explanatory power of the paradoxical functional facilitation theory, the superior visual perception hypothesis, the "Hmmmmm" hypothesis, and the Neanderthal theory of autism regarding the emergence of autistic savant artists. In addition, we investigated whether an increase in savant characteristics was related to a decrease in the ability for social communication. The authors suggested that in studies on the aesthetic experience of non-savant autistic individuals, their aesthetic experience ability is never lower than that of neurotypical individuals and that some non-savant autistic individuals may potentially have artistic talent. Finally, the authors reviewed the effectiveness of the "autism savant spectrum syndromic disorder" proposed by some researchers. More scientific and systematic studies on autistic savant artists from a multidisciplinary perspective are warranted.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.108-115
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• 2016

Aggression and aggressive behaviors, often explained as harmful social interaction with the intention of hurting or inflicting damage upon another, have been considered as an adaptive mechanism from the evolutionary psychological point of view. However, various studies on aggression and aggressive behaviors have been done with psychopathological approach as the extreme aggressive behaviors may harm themselves and others at the same time. Recently, researchers have attempted to explain aggression in terms of neurobiological substrates rather than based on traditional psychopathological and/or behavioral concept. In this regard, there have been findings of differences in neurotransmitters and their receptors, and genetic polymorphisms. In this review article, we provide a brief overview of the literature about seven most frequently reported neurotransmitters including neurohormones (serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine, gamma-aminobutyric acid, nitric oxide, oxytocin and vasopressin) and an associated enzyme (monoamine oxidase A), which are known to be related with aggression and aggressive behaviors.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.40-60
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• 2004

Introduction：Research on attachment in view point of the developmental perspective which began in the 1940s progressed during several decades. Many investigators focused mother-child separation in early attachment studies, and moved to the relationship with childhood psychopathology. Recently attachment theory and research are moving forward along the intergenerational transmission of attachment patterns, and adolescents and adult mental disorders in the developmental perspectives. Methods：We surveyed the research papers through Medline search, attachment-related monographs, and review or original papers published in Korean journal. Results：Developmental attachment researches have demonstrated convincingly that insecure attachment in infancy is associated with attachment disorder; several childhood psychopatholgy, such as institutional care and adoption, aggression and behavioral problems, childhood anxiety disorders and depressive disorders, gender identity disorder and feeding disorder, and child abuse and maltreatment; peer relationship and social competency, and parental behaviors. Recently the methodological advances including the Adult Attachment Interview that systematically assesses the adults' recollections of the earlier parent-child relationship they experienced could move beyond attachment researcher's initial concern with infancy to consider attachment processes throughout the life span. We could find that the quality of attachment was associated with several mental disorders in adolescents and adults significantly. Conclusion：Attachment theory would have focused on more specific parent-child relationship than general parental behavior. Recent attachment theory underscores its evolutionary origins to promote development of infant and contribute to human survival in psychobiological bases. Advances in attachment research could unite interests in evolutional biology and developmental psychology in understanding early parent-child relationship, and apply to clinical issues concerning mental health throughout the life span.