• International Journal of Control, Automation, and Systems
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.337-342
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• 2007

This paper proposes a helmet-type whole-head brain stimulator system considering a realistic head geometry. For more accurate design and computer simulations, a realistic volume conductor model was adopted and the current evoked on human cerebral cortex was analyzed using the boundary element method (BEM). To obtain a more focalized evoked current around the target points, various coil configurations were tested and an average targeting error of about 10 mm was obtained.

• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.83-102
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• 2018

The process model of emotion regulation suggests that cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression engage at different time points in the regulation process. Although multiple brain regions and networks have been identified for each strategy, no articles have explored changes in network characteristics or network connectivity over time. The present study examined (a) the whole-brain network and six other resting-state networks, (b) their modularity and global efficiency, which is an index of the efficiency of information exchange across the network, (c) the degree and betweenness centrality for 160 brain regions to identify the hub nodes with the most control over the entire network, and (d) the intra-network and inter-network functional connectivity (FC). Such investigations were performed using a traditional large-scale FC analysis and a relatively recent sliding window correlation analysis. The results showed that the right inferior orbitofrontal cortex was the hub region of the whole-brain network for both strategies. The present findings of temporally altering functional activity of the networks revealed that the default mode network (DMN) activated at the early stage of reappraisal, followed by the task-positive networks (cingulo-opercular network and fronto-parietal network), emotion-processing networks (the cerebellar network and DMN), and sensorimotor network (SMN) that activated at the early stage of suppression, followed by the greater recruitment of task-positive networks and their functional connection with the emotional response-related networks (SMN and occipital network). This is the first study that provides neuroimaging evidence supporting the process model of emotion regulation by revealing the temporally varying network efficiency and intra- and inter-network functional connections of reappraisal and suppression.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.29 no.8
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• pp.990-1010
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• 2009

To derive brain-based evolutionary educational principles, this study examined the studies on the structural and functional characteristics of human brain, the biological evolution occurring between- and within-organism, and the evolutionary attributes embedded in science itself and individual scientist's scientific activities. On the basis of the core characteristics of human brain and the framework of universal Darwinism or universal selectionism consisted of generation-test-retention (g-t-r) processes, a Model of Brain-based Evolutionary Scientific Teaching for Learning (BEST-L) was developed. The model consists of three components, three steps, and assessment part. The three components are the affective (A), behavioral (B), and cognitive (C) components. Each component consists of three steps of Diversifying $\rightarrow$ Emulating (Executing, Estimating, Evaluating) $\rightarrow$ Furthering (ABC-DEF). The model is 'brain-based' in the aspect of consecutive incorporation of the affective component which is based on limbic system of human brain associated with emotions, the behavioral component which is associated with the occipital lobes performing visual processing, temporal lobes performing functions of language generation and understanding, and parietal lobes, which receive and process sensory information and execute motor activities of the body, and the cognitive component which is based on the prefrontal lobes involved in thinking, planning, judging, and problem solving. On the other hand, the model is 'evolutionary' in the aspect of proceeding according to the processes of the diversifying step to generate variants in each component, the emulating step to test and select useful or valuable things among the variants, and the furthering step to extend or apply the selected things. For three components of ABC, to reflect the importance of emotional factors as a starting point in scientific activity as well as the dominant role of limbic system relative to cortex of brain, the model emphasizes the DARWIN (Driving Affective Realm for Whole Intellectual Network) approach.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.66 no.5
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• pp.511-524
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• 2023

Objective : This animal model aimed to compare the rat group that received brain irradiation and did not receive additional treatment (only saline) and the rat group that underwent brain irradiation and received Granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) treatment. In addition, the effects of G-CSF on brain functions were examined by magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and histopathologically. Methods : This study used 24 female Wistar albino rats. Drug administration (saline or G-CSF) was started at the beginning of the study and continued for 15 days after whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT). WBRT was given on day 7 of the start of the study. At the end of 15 days, the behavioral tests, including the three-chamber sociability test, open field test, and passive avoidance learning test, were done. After the behavioral test, the animals performed the MR spectroscopy procedure. At the end of the study, cervical dislocation was applied to all animals. Results : G-CSF treatment positively affected the results of the three-chamber sociability test, open-space test and passive avoidance learning test, cornu Ammonis (CA) 1, CA3, and Purkinje neuron counts, and the brain levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and postsynaptic density protein-95. However, G-CSF treatment reduced the glial fibrillary acidic protein immunostaining index and brain levels of malondialdehyde, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, nuclear factor kappa-B, and lactate. In addition, on MR spectroscopy, G-CSF had a reversible effect on brain lactate levels. Conclusion : In this first designed brain irradiation animal model, which evaluated G-CSF effects, we observed that G-CSF had reparative, neuroprotective and anti-neurodegenerative effects and had increased neurotrophic factor expression, neuronal counts, and morphology changes. In addition, G-CSF had a proven lactate-lowering effect in MR spectroscopy and brain materials.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.161-170
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• 2017

Meningitis caused by Streptococcus suis serotype 2 (S. suis 2) is a great threat to the pig industry and human health. Virulence factors associated with the pathogenesis of meningitis have yet to be clearly defined, even though many potential S. suis 2 virulence factors have been identified. This greatly hinders the progress of S. suis 2 meningitis pathogenesis research. In this study, a co-culture blood-brain barrier (BBB) model was established using primary porcine brain microvascular endothelial cells and astrocytes, and the whole genome library of S. suis 2 was constructed using phage display technology. Finally, a total of 14 potential virulence factors contributing to S. suis 2 adherence to and invasion of the BBB were selected by analyzing the interactions between the phage library and the co-culture model. Twelve of these factors have not been previously reported in meningitis-related research. The data provide valuable insight into the pathogenesis of S. suis 2 meningitis and potential targets for the development of drug therapies.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.99-106
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• 2019

Amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) allows early and accurate diagnosis in suspected cases of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and contributes to future treatment plans. In the present study, a method of implementing a diagnostic system to distinguish ${\beta}$-Amyloid ($A{\beta}$) positive from $A{\beta}$ negative with objectiveness and accuracy was proposed using a machine learning approach, such as the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Support Vector Machine (SVM). $^{18}F$-Florbetaben (FBB) brain PET images were arranged in control and patients (total n = 176) with mild cognitive impairment and AD. An SVM was used to classify the slices of registered PET image using PET template, and a system was created to diagnose patients comprehensively from the output of the trained model. To compare the per-slice classification, the PCA-SVM model observing the whole brain (WB) region showed the highest performance (accuracy 92.38, specificity 92.87, sensitivity 92.87), followed by SVM with gray matter masking (GMM) (accuracy 92.22, specificity 92.13, sensitivity 92.28) for $A{\beta}$ positivity. To compare according to per-subject classification, the PCA-SVM with WB also showed the highest performance (accuracy 89.21, specificity 71.67, sensitivity 98.28), followed by PCA-SVM with GMM (accuracy 85.80, specificity 61.67, sensitivity 98.28) for $A{\beta}$ positivity. When comparing the area under curve (AUC), PCA-SVM with WB was the highest for per-slice classifiers (0.992), and the models except for SVM with WM were highest for the per-subject classifier (1.000). We can classify $^{18}F$-Florbetaben amyloid brain PET image for $A{\beta}$ positivity using PCA-SVM model, with no additional effects on GMM.

• Proceedings of the KOSOMBE Conference
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• v.1998 no.11
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• pp.57-59
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• 1998

For medical students and doctors, knowledge of the three-dimensional (3D) structure of brain is very important in diagnosis and treatment of brain diseases. Two-dimensional (2D) tools (ex: anatomy book) or traditional 3D tools (ex: plastic model) are not sufficient to understand the complex structures of the brain. However, it is not always guaranteed to dissect the brain of cadaver when it is necessary. To overcome this problem, the virtual dissection programs of the brain have been developed. However, most programs include only 2D images that do not permit free dissection and free rotation. Many programs are made of radiographs that are not as realistic as sectioned cadaver because radiographs do not reveal true color and have limited resolution. It is also necessary to make the virtual dissection programs of each race and ethnic group. We attempted to make a virtual dissection program using a 3D image of the brain from a Korean cadaver. The purpose of this study is to present an educational tool for those interested in the anatomy of the brain. The procedures to make this program were as follows. A brain extracted from a 58-years old male Korean cadaver was embedded with gelatin solution, and serially sectioned into 1.4 mm-thickness using a meat slicer. 130 sectioned specimens were inputted to the computer using a scanner ($420\times456$ resolution, true color), and the 2D images were aligned on the alignment program composed using IDL language. Outlines of the brain components (cerebrum, cerebellum, brain stem, lentiform nucleus, caudate nucleus, thalamus, optic nerve, fornix, cerebral artery, and ventricle) were manually drawn from the 2D images on the CorelDRAW program. Multimedia data, including text and voice comments, were inputted to help the user to learn about the brain components. 3D images of the brain were reconstructed through the volume-based rendering of the 2D images. Using the 3D image of the brain as the main feature, virtual dissection program was composed using IDL language. Various dissection functions, such as dissecting 3D image of the brain at free angle to show its plane, presenting multimedia data of brain components, and rotating 3D image of the whole brain or selected brain components at free angle were established. This virtual dissection program is expected to become more advanced, and to be used widely through Internet or CD-title as an educational tool for medical students and doctors.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.64-72
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• 2006

The present study introduces a new cortical patch-based source model for EEG/MEG cortical source imaging to consider anatomical constraints more precisely. Conventional source models for EEG/MEG cortical source imaging have used coarse cortical surface mesh or sampled small number of vertices from fine surface mesh, and thus they failed to utilize full anatomical information which nowadays we can get with sub-millimeter modeling accuracy. Conventional ones placed a single dipolar source on each cortical patch and estimated its intensity by means of various inverse algorithms; whereas the suggested cortical patch-based model integrates whole cortical area to construct lead field matrix and estimates current density that is assumed to be constant in each cortical patch. We applied the proposed and conventional models to realistic EEG data and compared the results quantitatively. The quantitative comparisons showed that the proposed model can provide more precise spatial descriptions of neuronal source distribution.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.79-88
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to identify the difference of creativity according to the type of brain dominance for deveoping pre-service early childhood teachers's creativity teacher education program. The subjects of this study were 210 pre-service early childhood teachers. The tests were conducted by using the Herrmann' BDI and TTCT: verbal. The study have applied Pearson product-moment correlation to find out relation between the type of brain dominance and creativity, and used multi-variate analysis to find out the difference of creativity according to the type of brain dominance. The results of the study are as follow; first, the upper left brain, lower left limb, and right brains had no relation to fluency, flexibility, originality and overall linguistic creativity. The lower right limb showed a positive correlation with fluency, flexibility, originality, and overall linguistic creativity. Second, the lower left, upper right lower, and lower right limb dominant teachers showed higher fluency, flexibility, originality and overall linguistic creativity than upper left neural dominant teachers. The result of analyzing the language creativity according to the type of brain dominance of the pre-service early childhood teachers will be used as a suggestion to develop the brain-based creativity teacher education program.

• Journal of Animal Reproduction and Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.40-49
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• 2019

Chronic and unpredictable stress can disrupt the female reproductive system by suppression for secretion of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and gonadotrophin, resulted in ovarian malfunction and infertility. In the recent days, kisspeptin has been highly highlighted as a hypothalamic peptide which directly stimulates synthesis and release for GnRH. However, in spite of the key role of kisspeptin in the female reproductive system, little information is still available on the changes of its expression during ovarian cycle under stressed condition. Therefore, we induced chronic and unpredictable stress series to the female mice to analyze kisspeptin expression in the brain and ovary. Stressed mice exhibited changes of behavior and body weight gain during the stress assessment, which suggested that the present stress model in mice was successfully established. In the brain level, kisspeptin expression was attenuated than control. In the ovary level, the stressed mice displayed irregularly shrunk oocytes with broken zona pellucida throughout the follicle stages, pyknotic granulosa cells, decreased number of developing follicles and increased number of atretic follicles than the control. In case of kisspeptin expression in the whole ovary tissue, the expression level was decreased in the stressed mice. In detail, the less intensity of kisspeptin expression in the antral follicles phase was observed in the stressed mice than control mice, indicating that local function of kisspeptin during ovary cycle is highly associated with development of ovarian follicles. We expect that the present study has important implications for the fields of reproductive biology.