• 생물정신의학
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• 제26권2호
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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.

• 생물정신의학
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• 제24권2호
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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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• 제26권2호
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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.

• 생물정신의학
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• 제29권1호
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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.

• 인지과학
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• 제30권4호
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• pp.199-217
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• 2019

정신장애에 관한 진화 연구는 다른 의학 연구에 비해 어렵다. 정신장애는 신체 질병에 비해 근연원인(proximate causation)이 불명확하고, 다양한 요인이 관여하며, 원인과 결과를 구분하기 어렵고, 실험적 연구를 수행하는 것도 쉽지 않기 때문이다. 이러한 난점에도 불구하고 우선 환원 모델을 이용하여 정신장애에 관한 진화 가설을 수립하고 이를 바탕으로 실제 데이터를 실증해나가는 방법이 가능할 것이다. 본고에서는 이러한 입장에서 생태학적 접근 방법을 진화정신의학 연구에 적용할 때 필요한 몇 가지 개념 정의에 대해 논의하고자 한다. 인간의 정신병리를 진화적으로 탐구할 때 적합한 설명의 수준, 연구 대상의 범위를 논의하고, 행동과 기능, 역기능의 개념 정의, 연구 대상으로서 적절한 선택의 층위에 대하여 다루고자 한다.

• 생물정신의학
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• 제24권3호
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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.

• 생물정신의학
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• 제23권4호
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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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• 제34권2호
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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.

• 생물정신의학
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• 제23권3호
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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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• 제15권1호
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• pp.40-60
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• 2004

서 론：1940년 경 발달학적 관점에서 시작된 애착에 관한 연구가 지난 수십 년 동안 많은 발전을 이루었다. 초기 연구에서 주로 영유아기 아동의 부모에 대한 애착연구는 이후 성인기애착에 대한 평가가 가능해지면서 청소년기 혹은 성인기의 대인관계나 정서적 유대, 양육 경험에 까지 적용해 왔다. 이런 발전과 함께 최근 발달학적 정신병리에 관한 연구로 애착장애를 포함한 다양한 아동기 정신병리, 더 나아가 성인기 정신질환과 애착의 관계에 대한 연구가 수행되었다. 이 관계를 최근에 수행된 연구들을 중심으로 조명해보고자 한다. 대상 및 방법：최근에 수행된 연구를 중심으로 관련 문헌들-Medline에서 검색된 논문, 주요 단행본, 국내에서 발표된 애착 관련 논문들을 고찰하였다. 결 과：아동기 애착장애, 그 외에 정신병리로서 수용소에서의 양육과 후기 입양의 문제, 공격성과 행동문제, 아동기 불안장애 및 우울증, 성주체성 장애 및 섭식장애, 그리고 아동학대 및 부당 취급, 아동기의 또래관계 및 사회성 발달, 부모의 애착관계와 양육행동이 애착과 밀접한 연관을 가짐을 보여주고 있다. 다음으로, 최근 유아의 애착 행동이나 유형이 성인기까지 영향을 미치는가에 대한 장기 추적 연구들이 진행 중이다. 또한 Main 등이 개발한 AAI는 성인애착연구에 중요한 도구로 이용되었고, 이런 발전에 힘입어 부모의 해결되지 않은 애착에 관련된 문제가 자녀와 애착을 형성하는 과정에 영향을 주는 세대간 전이 현상을 발견하게 된 이후 성인 정신 병리의 원인에 대한 연구가 이러한 생애 초기의 애착과 관련된 문제에 관심을 갖게 하였다. 이 가운데 특히 성인기의 다양한 정신질환들-기분장애, 불안장애, 식사장애, 정신분열병, 해리장애, 성격장애-을 Bowlby의 발달학적 이론을 근거로 이해해 보고, 유아기의 애착과의 연관성 및 애착과 관련된 경험들이 후기 이러한 정신병리에 영향을 미칠 수 있는가에 대한 연구결과들이 논의되었다. 결 론：애착이론은 일반적인 부모의 양육과 같이 광범위한 부모-자녀 관계를 보다 심도 있게 조명할 수 있도록 한다. 또한 부모-자녀관계가 대개 사회심리적인 접근에서 이루어지고 있는 것과 달리 애착은 기본적으로 생존에 대한 생물학적인 기초에 근거하여 생태학적인 관점에서 아동의 문제를 파악할 수 있는 장점이 있다. 그리고 또한 부모-자녀관계, 나아가 아동과 가족간의 관계 속에서 파악하기 때문에 접근이나이를 기초로 하는 치료도 상호적인 관계 속에 이루어질 수밖에 없다. 따라서 앞으로 별도로 발전되어 왔던 발달 이론과 또한 별도로 독자적인 발전을 이루어 온 아동 정신병리 및 애착 장애와의 관련이 긴밀해져야 할 것이다.