• Molecules and Cells
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.315-324
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• 2005

Pain is an unpleasant sensation experienced when tissues are damaged. Thus, pain sensation in some way protects body from imminent threat or injury. Peripheral sensory nerves innervated to peripheral tissues initially respond to multiple forms of noxious or strong stimuli, such as heat, mechanical and chemical stimuli. In response to these stimuli, electrical signals for conducting the nociceptive neural signals through axons are generated. These action potentials are then conveyed to specific areas in the spinal cord and in the brain. Sensory afferent fibers are heterogeneous in many aspects. For example, sensory nerves are classified as $A{\alpha}$, $-{\beta}$, $-{\delta}$ and C-fibers according to their diameter and degree of myelination. It is widely accepted that small sensory fibers tend to respond to vigorous or noxious stimuli and related to nociception. Thus these fibers are specifically called nociceptors. Most of nociceptors respond to noxious mechanical stimuli and heat. In addition, these sensory fibers also respond to chemical stimuli [Davis et al. (1993)] such as capsaicin. Thus, nociceptors are considered polymodal. Recent advance in research on ion channels in sensory neurons reveals molecular mechanisms underlying how various types of stimuli can be transduced to neural signals transmitted to the brain for pain perception. In particular, electrophysiological studies on ion channels characterize biophysical properties of ion channels in sensory neurons. Furthermore, molecular biology leads to identification of genetic structures as well as molecular properties of ion channels in sensory neurons. These ion channels are expressed in axon terminals as well as in cell soma. When these channels are activated, inward currents or outward currents are generated, which will lead to depolarization or hyperpolarization of the membrane causing increased or decreased excitability of sensory neurons. In order to depolarize the membrane of nerve terminals, either inward currents should be generated or outward currents should be inhibited. So far, many cationic channels that are responsible for the excitation of sensory neurons are introduced recently. Activation of these channels in sensory neurons is evidently critical to the generation of nociceptive signals. The main channels responsible for inward membrane currents in nociceptors are voltage-activated sodium and calcium channels, while outward current is carried mainly by potassium ions. In addition, activation of non-selective cation channels is also responsible for the excitation of sensory neurons. Thus, excitability of neurons can be controlled by regulating expression or by modulating activity of these channels.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.37-64
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• 2015

This technical research paper attempts to examine literature therapeutic significance of Sijo. This research analyzes how the therapeutic mechanisms of literature or sentence can be physiologically applied to human nerve system. To study such interactions between therapeutic mechanisms of literature and human physiological mechanisms, diverse on- and offline Sijo activities, such as a Facebook group "Sijoya Nolja", were studied, as well as various publications in literature and medicine. For the three years this research was being conducted, 27 out of 488 Sijo poets debuted through Sinchunmunye, and many have gone professional through various contests. 19 of them became members of Sijo Poet Associations of Korea, with globalization of Sijo in mind. Their aggressive activity proves that the quality of live was elevated through literature therapy. The therapeutic effects are especially dramatic for older authors, and authors with traumatic experience. Through this research, Sijo turned out to be a form of literature with the quickest effect on elevating quality of life. To solve problems such as depression, emotional isolation, and other mental conditions, literature therapy through Sijo should be implemented, and therapeutic approach of literature should be more professionalized.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.98 no.1
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• pp.26-32
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• 2009

The use of natural environments to change lifestyle and health has been long recognized. In particular, forests, trees, and open space have been shown to promote mental health. In this study, we examined the effectiveness of the structured psychotherapeutic program using forest environment ("forest activity program") to improve the symptoms of nine patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) who were taking variable doses of antidepressants. We assessed the depressive symptoms, quality of life, and autonomic nerve regulation among the MDD patients. Hamilton Rating Scales for Depression (HRSD) scores significantly decreased after the forest therapy (13.56 vs. 5.56, p=0.003), and some subscores of Short Form 36 health survey questionnaire (SF-36) and heart rhythm coherence are improved as well. Combined with antidepressant pharmacotherapy, the structured psychotherapeutic program using forest environment showed an improved health status for MDD patients and thus has potential as an adjuvant treatment for MDD, especially for rehabilitation and relapse prevention.

• Journal of Korean Society of Industrial and Systems Engineering
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.124-130
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• 2017

This study is aimed to find out whether there is difference in the physiological change of a human body according to the illumination and color of interior space or not and to specify the effect of the condition of illumination and color, respectively on the attention. In order to do so, White and Green were selected for colors and 4,000k, 5,000k, and 6000k were done for color temperature, and then attention was identified. Examining the results, the more color temperature increased, the more attention improved (P < 0.05), and in the case of EEG, ${\alpha}$ wave decreased while performing the task of attention (P < 0.01), and ${\beta}$ wave decreased more in Green than White in color condition, and it increased more in 4,000k than 5,000k and 6,000k (p < 0.05) in color temperature condition. To sum up, color condition didn't contribute to the attention much, in the case of color temperature, when it is 6,000k, it is judged that it helped to improve attention. It is considered that relaxation contributed to improving attention, as ${\beta}$ wave and sympathetic nerve decreased in 6,000k (p < 0.05). It is judged that the relaxation of tensions which happened due to a beta wave and the reduction of sympathetic nervous system activity in 6,000k, a condition of high color temperature, contributed to the improvement of concentration. In further researches, it is intended that a test will be conducted for the subjects of different ages, and the correlation between color temperature and color stimulation and the influence of them on human body would be observed in subdivided, various test conditions through various color temperature and color stimulation.

• Journal of Naturopathy
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2022

Background: A validation study is needed to make domestic applications of German Kneipp therapy. Purpose: The study aims to test the effect of a Kneipp therapeutic program in a domestic forest environment on the autonomic nervous system. Methods: The program was made considering the 4 key elements ('exercise', 'regulative therapy', 'nutrition', and 'phytotherapy') of the Kneipp therapy. Total 3 sessions (once a week for 5 hours in each session) were performed to 40 domestic adults divided into four groups (10 in each group). HRV was measured on the subjects before and after the intervention, and its 6 characteristic parameters (TP, VLF, LF, HF, LF/HF, CSI: Cumulative Stress Index) were compared for statistical analysis. Results: For 33 subjects excluding 7 who were disturbed by interrupt factors during measurements, significant improvements after the intervention, were observed in TP(8.64%, p < ..001), VLF(6.96%, p < .05), LF(15.86%, p < .001), HF(8.46%, p < .01), LF/HF(5.77%, p < .05) and CSI(-16.06%, p < ..001). Conclusions: The Kneipp therapy performed in the forest environment was shown to activate the autonomic nervous system and in particular the sympathetic and parasympatheric nervous to promote heart activity, and was also shown to most significantly reduce cumulative stress. The present observations would be the first preliminary evidence that the Kneipp therapeutic interventation in a domestic forest environment results in positive responses of the autonomic nervous system including stress relief.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.290-300
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• 2023

This study was understood the risk mechanism of falls in the elderly and reviewed previous research data to see if the principle of Pilates rehabilitation exercise could have a positive effect on balance ability and postural stabilization in the elderly, and the purpose of this study is to present literature-based data on the fall prevention effect of rehabilitation Pilates exercise. First, the rehabilitation Pilates exercise makes it available for strengthening the center of the body to stabilize the spine and pelvis and stimulates the nerve root, thereby having an effect on the balance and the joint stabilization. Second, a proprioceptive sensory impairment and a musculoskeletal degenerative disease due to aging increase the loss of balance ability and the instability in posture maintenance, thereby coming to raise the risk of a fall damage caused by the difficulty in performing motor functions and by the gait disturbance. Third, the rehabilitation Pilates exercise leads to improving the core muscle strength in older adults, resulting in being capable of expecting the betterment in the balance and the reaction time motor function. And there is a positive impact on the improvement in body imbalance and on the stability in movement involved in the fall prevention, resulting in being able to suggest the possibility of likely contributing to a reduction in a fall risk rate. In conclusion, the rehabilitation Pilates as the elderly exercise program showed effects on the improvement in the body's muscular strength, on the upgrade in a sense of balance, and on the stabilization of core. Thus, it was considered to diminish the risk factors for a fall damage caused by musculoskeletal degeneration and to be capable of preventing a serious disorder of activity due to a chronic senile disease.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.112 no.4
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• pp.544-553
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• 2023

The purpose of this study was to reveal the thermal comfort and physiological and psychological effects of spending time in broad-leaved forests in suumer. Thirty-one university students (with an average age of 21.4 ± 2.1 years) participated in the study, and a within-subjects experimental design methodology was used. The participants moved to an experimental site (with a crown closure of 76.6%) or a control site (25.9%), sat on a chair to eliminate the impact of movement, and rested for 5 minutes with closed eyes. At this time, thermal comfort, heart rate variability, heart rate, and forehead temperature were continuously measured. After that, blood pressure and pulse rate were measured, and a subjective evaluation was conducted. As a result, spending time at an experimental site showed a statistically significant decrease in the predicted mean vote and the percentage of dissatisfied values, enhancement of parasympathetic nerve activity, decrease of forehead temperature, diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, pulse rate, and improvement of personal thermal sensation (thermal sensation vote and comfort sensation vote). In conclusion, it was found that a forest with high crown closure reduces thermal stress and induces physiological and psychological relaxation.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.66
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• pp.213-220
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• 2023

The most common skin disease, acne, often occurs in adolescence, but it is also detected/observed in adults due to air pollution and drug abuse. One of the causative agents of acne, Cutibacterium acnes (C. acnes) plays a role in the development of skin acne by inducing inflammatory mediators. Torreya nucifera (TN) is an evergreen tree of the family Taxaceae, having well reported antioxidant, anti-proliferative, liver protection, and nerve protection properties. Improvement of these bioactive properties of natural products is one of the purposes of natural product chemistry and pharmaceuticals. We believe biorenovation could be one improvement strategy that utilizes microbial metabolism to produce unique derivatives having enhanced bioactivity. Therefore, in this study, the C. acnes-induced RAW264.7 inflammation model was used to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity of the biorenovated Torreya nucifera product (TNB). The results showed improved viability of TNB-treated cells compared to TN-treated cells in the concentration range of 50, 100, and 200 ㎍/mL. At non-toxic concentrations, TNB inhibited the production of nitric oxide and prostaglandin E2 by suppression of inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 protein expression. TNB also attenuated the expression of interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, interleukin-8, and tumor necrosis factor-α induced by C. acnes. Furthermore, TNB inhibited the nuclear factor-κB signaling pathway, a transcription factor known to regulate inflammatory mediators. Based on these results, this study suggests the potential of using TNB as natural material for the treatment of acnes and thus, supporting our postulation of biorenovation as an bioactivity improvement strategy.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.163-170
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• 2006

Nardostachyos Rhizoma (N. Rhizoma) belonging to the family Valerianaceae has been anti-arrhythmic effect, and sedation to the central nerve and a smooth muscle. We reported that the water extract of N. Rhizoma induced apoptotic cell death and differentiation in human promyelocytic leukemia (HL-60) cells. Cytotoxicity of N. Rhizoma was detected only in HL-60 cells (IC50 is about 200 ${\mu}g/ml$). The cytotoxic activity of N. Rhizoma in HL-60 cells was increased in a dose-dependent manner. We used several measures of apoptosis to determine whether these processes were involved in N. Rhizoma-induced apoptotic cell death. The high-dose (200 ${\mu}g/ml$) treatment of N. Rhizoma to HL-60 cells showed cell shrinkage, cell membrane blobbing, apoptotic bodies, and the fragmentation of DNA, suggesting that these cells underwent apoptosis. Treatment of HL-60 cells with N. Rhizoma time-dependently induced activation of caspase-3, caspase-8, and caspase-9 and proteolytic cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase. Also, we investigated the effect of N. Rhizoma on cellular differentiation and proliferation in HL-60 cells. Differentiation and proliferation of HL-60 cells was determined through expression of CD11b and CD14 surface antigens using flow cytometry and nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) assay, and through analysis of cell cycle using propidium iodide assay, respectively. N. Rhizoma induced the differentiation of HL-60 at the low-dose (100 ${\mu}g/ml$) treatment, as shown by increased expression of differentiation surface antigen CD11b, but not CDl4 and increased reducing activity of NBT. When HL-60 cells were treated with N. Rhizoma at concentration of $50{\mu}g/ml\;and\;100{\mu}g/ml$, NBT-reducing activities induced approximately 1.5-fold and 20.0-fold as compared with the control. In contrast, HL-60 cells treated with the N. Rhizoma-ATRA combination showed markedly elevated levels of 26.3-fold at $50{\mu}g/ml$ N. Rhizoma-0.1 ${\mu}M$ ATRA combination and 27.5-fold at 50 ${\mu}g/ml$ N. Rhizoma-0.2 ${\mu}M$ ATRA combination than when treated with N. Rhizoma alone or ATRA alone. It may be that N. Rhizoma plays important roles in synergy with ATRA during differentiation of HL-60 cells. DNA flow-cytometry indicated that N. Rhizoma markedly induced a G1 phase arrest of HL-60 cells. N. Rhizoma-treated HL-60 cells increased the cell population in G1 phase from 32.71% to 42.26%, whereas cell population in G2/M and S phases decreased from 23.61% to 10.33% and from 37.78% to 33.98%, respectively. We examined the change in the $p21^{WAF1/Cip1}\;and\;p27^{Kip1}$ proteins, which are the CKIs related with the G1 phase arrest. The expression of the CDK inhibitor $p27^{Kip1},\;but\;not\;p21^{WAF1/Cip1}$ were markedly increased by N. Rhizoma. Taken together, these results demonstrated that N. Rhizoma induces apoptotic cell death through activation of caspase-3, and potently inhibits the proliferation of HL-60 cells via the G1 phase cell cycle arrest in association with $p27^{Kip1}$ and granulocytic differentiation induction .

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.108-117
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• 2023

Objectives : Somatic symptom disorder (SSD) is characterized by the manifestation of a variety of physical symptoms, but little is known about differences in autonomic nervous system activity according to symptom severity, especially within patient groups. In this study, we examined differences in heart rate variability (HRV) across symptom severity in a group of SSD patients to analyze a representative marker of autonomic nervous system changes by symptoms severity. Methods : Medical records were retrospectively reviewed for patients who were diagnosed with SSD based on DSM-5 from September 18, 2020 to October 29, 2021. We applied inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) methods to generate more homogeneous comparisons in HRV parameters by correcting for selection biases due to sociodemographic and clinical characteristic differences between groups. Results : There were statistically significant correlations between the somatic symptom severity and LF (nu), HF (nu), LF/HF, as well as SD1/SD2 and Alpha1/Alpha2. After IPTW estimation, the mild to moderate group was corrected to 27 (53.0%) and the severe group to 24 (47.0%), and homogeneity was achieved as the differences in demographic and clinical characteristics were not significant. The analysis of inverse probability weighted regression adjustment model showed that the severe group was associated with significantly lower RMSSD (β=-0.70, p=0.003) and pNN20 (β=-1.04, p=0.019) in the time domain and higher LF (nu) (β=0.29, p<0.001), lower HF (nu) (β=-0.29, p<0.001), higher LF/HF (β=1.41, p=0.001), and in the nonlinear domain, significant differences were tested for SampEn15 (β=-0.35, p=0.014), SD1/SD2 (β=-0.68, p<0.001), and Alpha1/Alpha2 (ß=0.43, p=0.001). Conclusions : These results suggest that differences in HRV parameters by SSD severity were showed in the time, frequency and nonlinear domains, specific parameters demonstrating significantly higher sympathetic nerve activity and reduced ability of the parasympathetic nervous system in SSD patients with severe symptoms.