• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.115-122
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• 2000

The development of molecular biology has brought many changes in psychiatry. Molecular biology makes us possible to know the cause of mental disorders that provide the way to prevent the disorders, and to develop various accurate diagnostic and treatment methods for mental disorders. The author discusses the concept, cause, and treatment of mental disorders in the aspect of molecular biology. Importing the methods of molecular biology into psychiatry, we can anticipate to get a number of the goals of psychiatric genetics, including identification of specific susceptibility genes, clarification of the pathophysiological processes whereby these genes lead to symptoms, establishment of epigenetic factors that interact with these genes to produce disease, validation of nosological boundaries that more closely reflect the actions of these genes, and development of effective preventive and therapeutic interventions based on genetic counseling, gene therapy, and modification of permissive or protective environmental influences. In addition to their capacity to accelerate the discovery of new molecules participating in the nervous system's response to disease or to self-administered drugs, molecular biological strategies can also be used to determine how critical a particular gene product may be in mediating a cellular event with behavioral importance. Molecular biology probably enables us discover the environmental factors of mental disorders and allow rational drug design and gene therapies for mental disorders, by isolation of gene products that facilitate a basic understanding of the pathogenesis of these disorders. A specific genetic linkage may suggest a novel class of drugs that has not yet been tried. With respect to gene therapy, the hypothetical method would use a gene delivery system, most likely a modified virus, to insert a functional copy of a mutant gene into those brain cells that require the gene for normal function.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.729-740
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• 2022

This study analyzed the effects of job stress and sleep disorders on sleepiness during the daytime for a night-shift urban railway crew. As a result of the analysis, measurements on a daytime sleepiness index were higher for the crew than those during other working hours, indicating that the degrees of sleepiness and drowsiness were severe. Afterwards, aromatic essential oils, which are generally known to help relieve sleep disorders and stress, were utilized to verify the effect on stress on night-shift workers. The experimental group treated with aromatherapy was found to show improved stress reduction and overall activity levels in the autonomic nervous system compared to an untreated control group. This study proves that night work by an urban railway crew negatively affects stress levels by increasing stress and negatively affects the autonomous nervous system, also showing that an aromatherapy treatment can be a good alternative to alleviate these conditions. The results of this study are expected to help prevent safety accidents by relieving the stress of nighttime workers.

• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.57-64
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• 2019

Anger is the most common emotional trigger causing relapses in individuals with alcohol use disorders (AUDs). The present study intended to investigate the autonomic nervous system (ANS) responses induced by anger in individuals with AUDs. The participants in this study included twelve individuals with AUDs and 14 non-frequent drinkers. Anger was induced in the participants via a 120-second film clip. Before the presentation of this audio-visual stimulus, the ANS responses of the participants were measured for 60 seconds to ascertain their resting state. Subsequently, the participants' ANS responses were measured again for 120 seconds when they were in an emotional state during the presentation of the clip. After the ANS measurements were taken, participants were asked to rate the type of emotion they had experienced as they viewed the film and to report its intensity. The results indicated that the levels of anger experienced by the AUD group were not significantly different from the emotion registered by the control group. However, the ANS responses induced in AUD participants when they were in an emotional state showed blunted skin conductance levels (SCL) and skin conductance responses (SCR) compared to the control group participants. Individuals with AUDs evinced lower emotional arousal than the participants of the control group. These results can help clinicians understand the psychological and physiological responses of individuals with AUDs to anger in order to design effective interventions that would reduce chances of anger and relapse.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.5-11
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• 2017

The use of alcohol is associated with the development and worsening of sleep disorder. Alcohol is generally known to have a sedative effect, but it has an arousal or sedative effect depending on the timing and drinking dose and directly affects REM sleep physiology. Alcohol acts on the central nervous system (CNS) to interfere with the sleep-wake cycle and to affect sleep-related hormone secretion. In addition, the ingestion of alcohol pre-sleep is associated with deterioration and development of sleep related breathing disorders (SBD). The increase in resistance of the upper respiratory tract and the decrease in sensitivity of the CNS respiratory center and the respiratory muscles are major mechanisms of alcohol-induced SBD, and result in snoring or apnea in healthy men or aggravating apnea in patients with OSA. Sleep-related restless leg syndrome and circadian rhythm disorders are common in alcohol use disorder patients. This review provides an assessment of scientific studies that investigated on the impact of alcohol ingestion on nocturnal sleep physiology and sleep disorders.

• BMB Reports
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• v.53 no.11
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• pp.551-564
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• 2020

Proper development of the nervous system is critical for its function, and deficits in neural development have been implicated in many brain disorders. A precise and predictable developmental schedule requires highly coordinated gene expression programs that orchestrate the dynamics of the developing brain. Especially, recent discoveries have been showing that various mRNA chemical modifications can affect RNA metabolism including decay, transport, splicing, and translation in cell type- and tissue-specific manner, leading to the emergence of the field of epitranscriptomics. Moreover, accumulating evidences showed that certain types of RNA modifications are predominantly found in the developing brain and their dysregulation disrupts not only the developmental processes, but also neuronal activities, suggesting that epitranscriptomic mechanisms play critical post-transcriptional regulatory roles in development of the brain and etiology of brain disorders. Here, we review recent advances in our understanding of molecular regulation on transcriptome plasticity by RNA modifications in neurodevelopment and how alterations in these RNA regulatory programs lead to human brain disorders.

• Electronics and Telecommunications Trends
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.98-110
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• 2020

Precise detection and modulation of electrical signal patterns passing through peripheral nerves connecting organs and brainstems, referred to as electroceuticals or bioelectronic medicines, have emerged as a new type of treatments for neural disorders and chronic diseases. With the rapid advancements in neural interface technologies, electroceuticals are the focus of treatments for these disorders or diseases. In this paper, we introduced electroceuticals as an extension of neuromodulation for the treatment of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, obesity, and bladder dysfunction, without side effects that are unavoidably elicited when conventional drugs are taken. Further, this paper reviewed the anatomy of the peripheral nervous system, treatment examples for chronic diseases, technological demands for peripheral nerve interfacing, global R&D programs and market trends for electroceuticals, and prospects on electroceuticals.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.26-31
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• 2003

Restless leg syndrome (RLS) and periodic limb movement of sleep (PLMS), often concurrent, come under diagnosed disorders of sleep and treatable condition. RLS symptoms are evoked in the limbs at rest and increase in the evening and during the night. PLMS is characterized by periodic episodes of repetitive limb movements caused by muscle contractions during sleep. RLS is often associated with a sleep complaint and PLMS. Both RLS and PLMS represent one of the most commonly encountered sleep disorders in a primary care setting. The circadian rhythm and the presence of PLMS cause sleep disturbances in RLS. The emphasis on pathophysiology includes consideration of central nervous system localization, neurotransmitter, and the role of iron metabolism. Dopaminergic agents are considered the treatment of choice for RLS and PLMS. With proper diagnosis and effective treatment patients' ability to fall asleep and maintain sleep improves, and their sense of well being increases.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2013

Glutamate receptors are important components of synaptic transmission in the nervous system. Especially, ${\alpha}$-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid (AMPA) receptors mediate most abundant excitatory synaptic transmission in the brain. There is elaborate mechanism of regulation of AMPA receptors including protein synthesis/degradation, intracellular trafficking, exocytosis/endocytosis and protein modification. In recent studies, it is revealed that functional dysregulation of AMPA receptors are related to major psychiatric disorders. In this review, we describe the structure and function of AMPA receptors in the synapse. We will introduce three steps of mechanism involving trafficking of AMPA receptors to neuronal membrane, lateral diffusion into synapses and synaptic retention by membrane proteins and postsynaptic scaffold proteins. Lastly, we will describe recent studies showing that regulation of AMPA receptors is important pathophysiological mechanism in psychiatric disorders.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.681-687
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• 2010

Sibjeondaebo-tang (SJDBT) is an oriental medicinal prescription for the treatments of diverse symptoms including neurological disorders. In order to investigate its potential role for neural regulation following nerve injury, neurite outgrowth of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons in culture was investigated. In DRG neurons which were preconditioned by sciatic nerve injury, neurite outgrowth was enhanced by SJDBT treatment. When preconditioned DRG neurons were co-cultured with astrocytes prepared from injured spinal cord tissue, neurite outgrowth was similarly facilitated by SJDBT. Astrocytes in co-culture showed more intense signals of vimentin protein by SJDBT compared to saline control. Sukjihwang (SJH), a conventional herbal component of SJDBT prescription, did not induce any significant changes in neurite extension of DRG neurons compared to control cells. These data suggest that SJDBT may be the therapeutic agent for nervous system disorders related to nerve damage.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.42 no.12
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• pp.828-835
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• 2019

PIWI Argonaute proteins and Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are expressed in all animal species and play a critical role in cellular defense by inhibiting the activation of transposable elements in the germline. Recently, new evidence suggests that PIWI proteins and piRNAs also play important roles in various somatic tissues, including neurons. This review summarizes the neuronal functions of the PIWI-piRNA pathway in multiple animal species, including their involvement in axon regeneration, behavior, memory formation, and transgenerational epigenetic inheritance of adaptive memory. This review also discusses the consequences of dysregulation of neuronal PIWI-piRNA pathways in certain neurological disorders, including neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases. A full understanding of neuronal PIWI-piRNA pathways will ultimately provide novel insights into small RNA biology and could potentially provide precise targets for therapeutic applications.