• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.335-341
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• 2013

Balamuthia mandrillaris is one of the 4 amebas in fresh water and soil that cause diseases in humans. Granulomatous amebic encephalitis (GAE), caused by B. mandrillaris, is a rare but life-threatening condition. A 4-year-old, previously healthy, Thai girl presented with progressive headache and ataxia for over a month. Neuroimaging studies showed an infiltrative mass at the right cerebellar hemisphere mimicking a malignant cerebellar tumor. The pathological finding after total mass removal revealed severe necrotizing inflammation, with presence of scattered amebic trophozoites. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) obtained from lumbar puncture showed evidence of non-specific inflammation without identifiable organisms. A combination of pentamidine, sulfasalazine, fluconazole, and clarithromycin had been initiated promptly before PCR confirmed the diagnosis of Balamuthia amebic encephalitis (BAE). The patient showed initial improvement after the surgery and combined medical treatment, but gradually deteriorated and died of multiple organ failure within 46 days upon admission despite early diagnosis and treatment. In addition to the case, 10 survivors of BAE reported in the PubMed database were briefly reviewed in an attempt to identify the possible factors leading to survival of the patients diagnosed with this rare disease.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for the Gifted Conference
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• 2003.05a
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• pp.137-138
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• 2003

Understanding how and why people differ is a fundamental, if distant, goal of research efforts to bridge psychological and biological levels of analysis. General fluid intelligence (gF) is a major dimension of individual differences and refers to reasoning and novel problemsolving ability. A conceptual integration of evidence from cognitive (behavioral) and anatomical studies suggeststhat gF should covary with both task performance and neural activity in specific brain systems when specific cognitive demands are present, with the neural activity mediating the relation between gF and performance. Direct investigation of this possibility will be a critical step toward a mechanistic model of human intelligence. In turn, a mechanistic model might suggest ways to enhance gF through targeted behavioral or neurobiological intervent ions, We formed two different groups as subjects based on their scholarly attainments. Each group consists of 20 volunteers(aged 16-17 years, right-handed males) from the National Gifted School and a local high school respectively. To test whether individual differences in general intelligence are mediated at a neural level, we first assessed intellectual characteristics in 40 subjects using standard intelligence tests (Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices, Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking) administered outside of the MR scanner. We then used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRl) to measure task-related brain activity as participants performed three different kinds of computerized reasoning tasks that were intended to activate the relevant neural systems. To examine the difference of neural activity according to discrepancy in general intelligence, we compared the brain activity of both extreme groups (each, n=10) of the participants based on the standard intelligence test scores. In contrast to the common expectation, there was no significant difference of brain region involved in high-g tasks between both groups. Random effect analysis exhibited that lateral prefrontal, anterior cingulate and parietal cortex are associated with gF. Despite very different task contents in the three high-g-low-g contrasts, recruitment of multiple regions is markedly similar in each case, However, on the task with high 9F correlations, the Prodigy group, (intelligence rank: >99%) showed higher task-related neural activity in several brain regions. These results suggest that the relationship between gF and brain activity should be stronger under high-g conditions than low-g conditions.

• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.11-23
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• 2017

Spatial neglect is a neurological disorder following stroke, a lesion that usually affects the right hemisphere, fail to process or attention on the contralateral side of body and space. Functional neuroimaging studies report that spatial neglect is associated with lesions of large middle cerebral artery, perisylvian network and attention network. Spatial neglect is associated with a poor outcome. For optimal diagnosis and intervention, Types and theories of spatial neglect should be considered, in addition to clinical assessment with the conventional test and functional test. The treatment for spatial neglect could be consist of top-down approaches and bottom-up approaches. Recent trends in rehabilitation intervention for spatial neglect have reported prism adaptation.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.7-13
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• 2005

Anxiety is one of the basic emotions which human experiences across different cultures in the world and it can be observed in mammals. Our understanding of the neurobiology of this emotion has made some advances, even though it has not been completed, with the development and advance in the investigation method including neuroimaging, neurochemical, and genetic approaches. In this article, the neuroanatomical and neurochemical basis of anxiety is reviewed. The amygdaloid complex has been known to playa key role in processing of anxiety or fear. It has extensive afferent and/or efferent connections with cortical and subcortical structures. The mesial temporal structures including hippocampus appear to be involved in acquisition of anxiety and related behaviors. The prefrontal cortical structures appear to play important roles in conscious awareness of anxiety and in modulating anxiety and related behavior. The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) is known to playa critical role in unconditioned fear response. The central noradrenergic system and hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis are known to play important roles in modulating and expressing anxiety-related responses. Anxiety has been gathering attentions from many investigators and numerous preclinical and clinical investigations of anxiety and anxiety disorders have been done. In particular, neural plasticity in critical period and the psychobiological factors related to resilience to extreme stress and anxiety are important issues in this field.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.44-51
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• 2014

Objective : The amygdala has been considered to be a critical region in the pathophysiology of social anxiety disorder, but subregional connectivity pattern has not been examined yet despite lots of previous functional neuroimaging studies. Methods : Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data was obtained in 19 patients with social anxiety disorder and 20 normal controls, and default mode functional connectivity with each of basolateral, centromedial and superficial areas of the amygdala was measured and compared between the two groups. Results : Differential amygdala-based networks between the two groups were distributed to all over the brain. In particular, however, a bias on the amygdala-cingulate pathway was observed in the superficial amygdala only. Connectivity strengths between the superficial amygdala and perigenual anterior cingulate cortex were correlated with scores of social interaction and avoidance. Conclusion : Our findings provide new insights into understanding of the intrinsic cognitive bias model of social anxiety disorder. An abnormality in superficial amygdala-anterior cingulate connectivity may influence on cognitive processing of socially-relevant information in social anxiety disorder.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.257-267
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• 2012

Occupational neurotoxic diseases have become increasingly common in Taiwan due to industrialization. Over the past 40 years, Taiwan has transformed from an agricultural society to an industrial society. The most common neurotoxic diseases also changed from organophosphate poisoning to heavy metal intoxication, and then to organic solvent and semiconductor agent poisoning. The nervous system is particularly vulnerable to toxic agents because of its high metabolic rate. Neurological manifestations may be transient or permanent, and may range from cognitive dysfunction, cerebellar ataxia, Parkinsonism, sensorimotor neuropathy and autonomic dysfunction to neuromuscular junction disorders. This study attempts to provide a review of the major outbreaks of occupational neurotoxins from 1968 to 2012. A total of 16 occupational neurotoxins, including organophosphates, toxic gases, heavy metals, organic solvents, and other toxic chemicals, were reviewed. Peer-reviewed articles related to the electrophysiology, neuroimaging, treatment and long-term follow up of these neurotoxic diseases were also obtained. The heavy metals involved consisted of lead, manganese, organic tin, mercury, arsenic, and thallium. The organic solvents included n-hexane, toluene, mixed solvents and carbon disulfide. Toxic gases such as carbon monoxide, and hydrogen sulfide were also included, along with toxic chemicals including polychlorinated biphenyls, tetramethylammonium hydroxide, organophosphates, and dimethylamine borane. In addition we attempted to correlate these events to the timeline of industrial development in Taiwan. By researching this topic, the hope is that it may help other developing countries to improve industrial hygiene and promote occupational safety and health care during the process of industrialization.

• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.92-103
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• 2020

Background: The purpose of this study was to identify the top-100 cited articles on genetic generalized epilepsy (GGE) published in journals that have made key contributions to the field of epilepsy. Methods: We searched the Web of Science website produced by Clarivate Analytics for articles on GGE, and sorted them according to the number of citations to identify the top-100 cited articles. We then manually reviewed the contents of the top-100 cited articles, which were designated as "citation classics". Results: The top-100 cited articles were published in 27 journals, with the largest proportion appearing in Epilepsia (19 articles). The articles originated from institutions in 17 countries, with 31 articles from the USA. The institution associated with the largest numbers of articles in the field of GGE was the University of Melbourne, Australia (9 articles). Panayiotopoulos C. P. was the first author of three articles, and was listed most frequently in the GGE citation classics. The publication years were concentrated in the 2000s, when 56 articles were published. The most-common study topics were genetics (35 articles) and neuroimaging (17 articles). Conclusions: This study has identified the top-100 cited articles on GGE. These citation classics represent the landmark articles on GGE, and they provide useful insights into international research leaders and the research trends in the field.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.133-142
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• 1999

Recently, with increasing the number of patients with head injury and cerebrovascular accident, there has been an increasing need for the useful assessment tools of brain dysfunction and it's localization. With the advances in the neuroscience since the mid-1970s, particularly in the areas of neuroanatomical tracing, neuroimaging, and improved behavioraltest design, it has been possible to develop a more precise understanding and localization of brain dysfunction. However, these equipments are not readily available in the private clinics and too expensive to use as a screening tool to all suspected patients with brain dysfunction. Although several screening tests such as Mini-Mental States Examination(MMSE) or Brief Cognitive Rating Scale(BCRS) are simple in use and useful for the brief assessment of brain dysfunction, these are also limited in using for localization of brain dysfunction because of their simplicity. With increasing need of the assessment tool which is able to localize the dysfunction more precisely in the clinical practice, we planned to develop the new assessment tool, the Bedside Neurocognitive Function Localization Test(BNLT) which is suitable for this purpose. The BNLT was designed to be utilized for localizing brain dysfunction effectively and readily in the clinical practice. We introduced the whole process of designing the BNLT in this manuscript.

• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.13-20
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• 2000

Background and Objective : Visual evoked potentials(VEPs) is considered to be a reliable diagnostic procedure for examining patients with anterior visual pathways. Some abnormalities in the recordings on monocular stimulation have been said to indicate retrochiasmal lesion, but less consistent results have been reported. This study is to evaluate the positive predictability of VEP for the detection of retrochiasmal lesion. Methods : We reviewed VEPs that could be interpreted as indicative of a retrochiasmal lesions, based on amplitude or latency asymmetry recorded on the left(O1) and right(O2) occipital regions. Bilateral absent VEPs on both recording(O1 and O2) without evidence of prechiasmal lesion were included. During 5 years, we identified 31 patients who met the above criteria and who had undergone magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) of brain(one patient underwent computerized tomography). Twenty three patients underwent pattern reversal VEPs and others underwent flash goggle VEPs. Results : Brain imagings were abnormal in 29 and were normal in 2. Of the 29 abnormal scans, lesions in posterior visual pathway were detected in 21 scans(predictive value=68%). The predictive value was not significantly different between flash goggle VEP(75%) and pattern reversal VEP(68%). The predictive value was higher in patient with visual field defect(100%) than those without visual field defect(25%). The pathologic nature of lesion also showed close relations to the predictive value. VEPs is usually paradoxically lateralized(78%), but not in all patients. Conclusion : VEPs abnormalities suggesting retrochiasmal lesion were usually corresponded with brain MRI findings. Diagnostic reliability could be increased when considering the visual field defect and nature of lesion. Therefore, the authors suggest that VEPs studies could be useful in evaluating the patients with the retrochismal lesion.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.135-142
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• 2011

Objectives : The purpose of this case was to investigate the effectiveness of electroacupuncture for ophthamoplegic migraine. Methods : We provided electroacupuncture therapy and prescribed oriental medicine, Joganiknoe-tang daily. We measured patient's pain by VAS(Visual Analogue Scale) and eye movement with a ruler every five days. Results & Conclusions : Any patient who has a headache with paresis of the extraocular muscle should be considered for ophthalmoplegic migraine. To diagnose ophthalmoplegic migraine, family history, past medical history, associated symptoms and signs, neurologic examinations and neuroimaging tests are needed. The symptoms of patient improved gradually within 26days from the first day of admission, and we can see her complete recovery.