• 생물정신의학
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• 제7권2호
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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.

• 대한토목학회논문집
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• 제42권5호
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• pp.729-740
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• 2022

본 연구는 야간 근무 도시철도승무원을 대상으로 직무스트레스와 수면장애가 낮 시간대 졸음에 미치는 영향을 분석하였다. 분석결과 낮 시간대 졸음 지수는 타 근무시간대 보다 높게 측정되어 졸음 정도가 심한 것으로 나타났다. 이후 일반적으로 수면장애 및 스트레스 완화에 도움이 된다고 알려진 아로마에센셜 오일을 야간근무 근무자들에게 처치하여 스트레스와 자율신경계에 미치는 효과를 검증하였다. 아로마테라피를 처치 받은 실험군은 아무것도 처치하지 않은 대조군과 비교하여 스트레스의 감소, 자율신경계의 전체 활성도가 개선되는 것으로 나타났다. 본 연구는 도시철도승무원의 야간근무가 스트레스 증가와 자율신경계에 부정적으로 영향을 미치며, 이를 완화하기 위하여 아로마테라피 처치가 좋은 대안이 될 수 있음을 입증하였다. 본 연구를 통하여 야간 근무자들의 스트레스를 완화시켜 잠재적인 안전사고 예방에도 도움이 될 것으로 기대된다.

• 감성과학
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• 제22권4호
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• pp.57-64
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• 2019

분노는 알코올 사용 장애자들이 재발하기 전에 가장 흔하게 경험하는 정서 중 하나이다. 본 연구는 알코올 사용장애자의 분노 경험에 따른 자율신경계 반응 특성을 규명하고자 하였다. 본 연구에는 알코올 사용 장애로 진단받고 치료 중인 남성 환자 12명과 이들과 연령 및 학력수준이 유사한 일반인 남성 14명이 참여하였다. 분노를 유발하기 위하여 시청각 동영상을 제시하고, 이때 나타난 심리 및 자율신경계 반응(피부전기 활동)을 측정하였다. 연구 결과, 참여자들이 경험한 정서의 강도에서는 알코올 집단과 일반인 집단에서 차이가 나타나지 않았다. 반면, 알코올 집단은 안정 상태에 비해 분노 상태에서 비중독자에 비해 피부전도 수준, 피부전도 반응 그리고 피부전도반응 수가 유의하게 낮았다. 이 결과는 알코올 중독자들이 분노를 처리하는 동안에 생리 반응에서 이상이 나타남을 시사하였다. 알코올 사용 장애자들의 분노 경험 동안에 나타난 생리 반응 이상을 완화할 수 있는 개입방법을 개발한다면 알코올 사용 장애자들의 정서 처리 문제를 해결할 수 있어 그들의 재발 방지에 도움을 줄 수 있을 것이다.

• 수면정신생리
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• 제24권1호
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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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• 제53권11호
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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.

• 전자통신동향분석
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• 제35권3호
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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.

• 수면정신생리
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• 제10권1호
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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.

• 생물정신의학
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• 제20권1호
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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.

• 동의생리병리학회지
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• 제24권4호
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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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• 제42권12호
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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.