• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.730-740
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to investigate secondary science teachers' brain activation and functional connectivity during scientific observation on the biological phenomena. Twenty six right-handed healthy science teachers volunteered to be in the present study. To investigate science teachers' brain activities during the tasks, 3.0T fMRI system with block design was used to measure BOLD signals in their brains. The SPM2 software package was applied to analyze the acquired initial image data from the fMRI system. The results have shown that the left inferior frontal gyrus, the bilateral superior parietal lobule, the left inferior parietal lobule, the left precuneus, the left superior occipital gyrus, the right middle occipital gyrus, the right precuneus, the left inferior occipital gyrus and bilateral fusiform gyrus were significantly activated during participants' scientific observation. The network model consisted of eleven nodes (ROIs) and its ten connections. These results suggested the notion that scientific observation needs a connective cooperation among several brain regions associated with observing over just a sensory receiving process.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.18-27
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to identify different cerebral areas of the human brain associated with rural and urban picture stimulation using a 3.0 Tesla functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and further to investigate the human suitability for rural and urban environments. A total of 27 right-handed participants (mean age: $27.3{\pm}3.7$) underwent fMRI study on a 3.0T MR scanner. The brain activation patterns were induced by visual stimulation with each rural and urban sceneries. The participants were divided into two groups as 26 subjects favorable to rural scenery and 14 subjects unfavorable to urban scenery based on their filled-in questionnaire. The differences of the brain activation in response to two extreme types of pictures by the two sample t-test were characterized as follows: the activation areas observed in rural scenery over urban were the insula, middle frontal gyrus, precuneus, caudate nucleus, superior parietal gyrus, superior occipital gyrus, fusiform gyrus, and globus pallidus. In urban scenery over rural, the inferior frontal gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus, postcentral gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, amygdala, and posterior cingulate gyrus were activated. The fMRI patterns also clearly show that rural scenery elevated positive emotion such as happiness and comfort. On the contrary, urban scenery elevated negative emotion, resulting in activation of the amygdala which is the key region for the feelings of fear, anxiety and unpleasantness. This study evaluated differential cerebral areas of the human brain associated with rural and urban picture stimulation using a 3.0 Tesla fMRI. These findings will be useful as an objective evaluation guide to human suitability for ecological environments that are related to brain activation with joy, anger, sorrow and pleasure.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Medical Physics Conference
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• 2003.09a
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• pp.50-50
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• 2003

World Wide Web (WWW)에서 Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML)를 이용하는 3 차원 (3D) 디스플레이는 사용자에게 직관적인 정보를 더 효과적으로 제공해 준다. 웹을 기반으로 하는 해부학적 영상과 융합되는 기능적 영상의 3D 가시화는 아직까지 체계적인 방식으로 연구가 활발히 진행되지 않았다. 이 연구의 목적은 2D 영상들과 함께 웹에서 VRML을 이용하여 구현되는 3D 해부학적 표면 영상들과 기능적 표면 영상들을 동시적으로 관찰할 수 있게 하고 VRML을 통해 만들어진 거리 측정 도구를 가지고 관심영역의 공간적인 위치 정보를 제공하는 것이다. 본 연구에서는 한 명의 간질 환자로부터 Magnetic Resonance (MR) 축면 영상과 발작기 및 발작간기 Single Photon Emission Computed Tomo graphy (SPECT) 축면 영상들을 각각 획득하였다. 발작 진원지의 확인을 향상시키기 위해서 subtraction ictal SPECT co registered to MRI (SISCOM) 을 수행하였다. SISCOM 결과로 나타난 각 2D 영상들은 모든 voxel 들의 평균 값 위로 1 표준편차와 2 표준편차에 해당하는 문턱 이상의 영상 값을 갖도록 하였다. SISCOM으로 나타나는 간질 발작 진원지들과 MRI 영상에서 회색질, 백색질 및 뇌척수액의 경계들을 각각 분할하고 marching cube 알고리즘에 의해 VRML 표면 영상들로 나타내었다. 축면 영상에서 실제 거리를 나타내는 x, y 축의 길이를 측정하고 z 축선의 길이를 계산하였다. VRML을 이용한 거리 측정 도구를 만들어 이전의 VRML 표면 영상들과 융합하였다. MRI 영상을 이용하여 3D 표면 영상들의 단면을 나타내고 3D 표면 영상들의 투명도를 설정하기 위해 Java Script 루틴을 사용자 인터페이스 도구로서 삽입하였다. 웹 페이지에서 구현되는 3D 표면 영상들의 투명도와 관찰 위치를 조절함에 따라 모델들 사이의 공간적인 정보를 직관적으로 알 수 있었다. 간질 발작 진원지에 대응하는 해부학적 구조를 3D 표면 영상들을 가로지르는 MRI 평면 영상들을 통해서 확인하였다. 결론적으로 본 연구에서 제시하는 웹에 근거한 3D 융합 영상의 가시화와 위치 측정은 진단 및 치료 방사선학과 외과학 등의 분야에서 온라인 방식의 연구와 교육에 있어 많은 도움을 줄 것이다.

• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.403-414
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• 2011

The current study examined brain regions associated with aesthetic experience to fractal images using functional MRI. The aesthetic estimations of the images showed that there is a general consensus regarding the perception of beautiful images. Out of 270 fractal images, fifty images rated highest(beautiful images) and fifty images rated lowest(non-beautiful images) were selected and presented to the participants. The two conditions were presented using the block design. Frontal lobes, cingulate gyri, and insula, the areas related to the cognitive and emotional processing in aesthetic experience, were activated when beautiful images were presented. In contrast, the middle occipital gyri and precuneus, the areas associated with experience of negative emotions, were activated when non-beautiful images were presented. The conjunction analysis showed activations in temporal areas in response to beautiful images and activations in parietal areas in response to non-beautiful images. These results indicate that beautiful images elicit semantic interpretations whereas non-beautiful images facilitate abstract processes.

• Proceedings of the KSMRM Conference
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• 2000.03a
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• pp.35-50
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• 2000

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.183-194
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• 2009

Purpose : This study was performed not only to compare the brain activation regions associated with sexual arousal induced by visual stimulation and SP6 acupuncture, but also to evaluate its differential neuro-anatomical mechanism in healthy women using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) at 3 Tesla (T). Subjects and methods : A total of 21 healthy right-handed female volunteers (mean age 22 years, range 19 to 32) underwent fMRI on a 3T MR scanner. The stimulation paradigm for sexual arousal consisted of two alternating periods of rest and activation. It began with a 1-minute rest period, 3 minutes of stimulation with either of an erotic video film or SP6 acupuncture, followed by 1-minute rest. In addition, a comparative study on the brain activation patterns between an acupoint and a shampoint nearby GB37 was performed. The fMRI data were obtained from 20 slices parallel to the AC-PC line on an axial plane, giving a total of 2,000 images. The mean activation maps were constructed and analyzed by using the statistical parametric mapping (SPM99) software. Results : As comparison with the shampoint, the acupoint showed 5 times and 2 times higher activities in the neocortex and limbic system, respectively. Note that brain activation in response to stimulation with the shampoint was not observed in the regions including the HTHL in the diencephalon, GLO and AMYG in the basal ganglia, and SMG in the parietal lobe. In the comparative study of visual stimulation vs. SP6 acupuncture, the mean activation ratio of stimulus was not significantly different to each other in both the neocortex and the limbic system (p < 0.05). The mean activities induced by both stimuli were not significantly different in the neocortex, whereas the acupunctural stimulation showed higher activity in the limbic system (p < 0.05). Conclusions : This study compared the differential brain activation patterns and the neural mechanisms for sexual arousal, which were induced by visual stimulation and SP6 acupuncture by using 3T fMRI. These findings will be useful to understand the theory of traditional acupuncture and acupoint channel in scientific point of view.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 1997

뇌성마비는 뇌 발달시기중 초기의 장애로 인하여 운동기능과 자세의 이상 등을 초래하는 질환으로 임상적으로 여러 유형으로 나누어진다. 뇌성마비 환자중에서 MRI 상 롤란도야의 이상소견을 보이는 경우 특이한 임상적 특징을 나타낸다고 보고되어있다. 본 논문에서는 이들을 대상으로 하여 뇌 단일광자컴퓨터촬영에서 나타나는 뇌혈류 이상 소견과 MRI 소견, 그리고 임상양상들을 비교해보고자 하였다. 임상적으로 뇌성마비로 진단된 80여명의 환자중 MRI상 롤란도야에 저산소성 뇌질환의 소견을 보인 7명을 대상으로 하였다. 이들에게 5-10mCi의 Tc-99m-ECD를 정맥주사후 뇌 단일광자컴퓨터촬영을 하였다. 뇌 단일광자컴퓨터촬영상에서는 특히 뇌피질, 선조체, 시상, 뇌간 및 소뇌의 혈류이상 소견을 분석하였고, 이를 MRI 소견 및 임상증상과 비교하였다. 모든 환자들은 만삭 또는 만삭에 가깝게 태어났고, 주산기 아사가 여섯명의 환자에서 있었다. 임상적으로는 긴장성 사지마비로 나타났다. Tc-99m ECD를 이용한 뇌 단일광자 컴퓨터촬영상 롤란도야의 혈류감소는 모두에서 확연하게 나타났다 MRI상에서 롤란도야의 이상소견은 5명에서는 확실하게 나타났고, 2명에서는 의심되었다. MRI상에서 이상소견을 보인 것보다 더 광범위한 부분에서 뇌단일광자컴퓨터촬영상 이상소견이 보였다. 결론적으로, 롤란도야에서 이상소견을 보인 환자는 임상적, 구조적, 그리고 기능적으로 특이한 소견을 보였다. Tc-99m-ECD를 이용한 뇌 단일광자컴퓨터촬영은 매우 민감하게 반영하였고, MRI보다 뇌의 더 광범위한 부위에서 이상소견을 보였다.

• Journal of Korea Multimedia Society
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.684-694
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• 2021

Resting-state Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging(fMRI) data detects the temporal correlations in Blood Oxygen Level Dependent(BOLD) signal and these temporal correlations are regarded to reflect intrinsic cortical connectivity, which is deactivated during attention demanding, non-self referential tasks, called Default Mode Network(DMN). The relationship between fMRI and anatomical connectivity has not been studied in detail, however, the preceded studies have tried to clarify this relationship using Diffusion Tensor Imaging(DTI) and fMRI. These studies use method that fMRI data assists DTI data or vice versa and it is used as guider to perform DTI tractography on the brain image. In this study, we hypothesized that functional connectivity in resting state would reflect anatomical connectivity of DMN and the combined images include information of fMRI and DTI showed visible connection between brain regions related in DMN. In the previous study, functional connectivity was determined by subjective region of interest method. However, in this study, functional connectivity was determined by objective and advanced method through Independent Component Analysis. There was a stronger connection between Posterior Congulate Cortex(PCC) and PHG(Parahippocampa Gyrus) than Anterior Cingulate Cortex(ACC) and PCC. This technique might be used in several clinical field and will be the basis for future studies related to aging and the brain diseases, which are needed to be translated not only functional connectivity, but structural connectivity.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.40-46
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• 2009

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to investigate the quantitative evaluation of the corticospinal tract (CST) at the multiple levels by using functional MRI (fMRI) co-registered to diffusion tensor tractography (DTT). Materials and Methods : Ten normal subjects without any history of neurological disorder participated in this study. fMRI was performed at 1.5 T MR scanner using hand grasp-release movement paradigm. DTT was performed by using DtiStudio on the basis of fiber assignment continuous tracking algorithm (FACT). The seed region of interest (ROI) was drawn in the area of maximum fMRI activation during the motor task of hand grasp-release movement on a 2-D fractional anisotropy (FA) color map, and the target ROI was drawn in the cortiocospinal portion of anterior lower pons. We have drawn five ROIs for the measurement of FA and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) along the corona radiata (CR) down to the medulla. Results : The contralateral primary sensorimotor cortex (SM1) was mainly found to be activated in all subjects. DTT showed that tracts originated from SM1 and ran to the medulla along the known pathway of the CST. In all subjects, FA values of the CST were higher at the level of the midbrain and posterior limb of internal capsule (PLIC) than the level of others. Conclusion : Our study showed that co-registered fMRI and DTT has elucidated the state of CST on 3-D and analyzed the quantitative values of FA and ADC at the multiple levels. We conclude that co-registered fMRI and DTT may be applied as a useful tool for clarifying and investigating the state of CST in the patients with brain injury.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.43-49
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• 2005

A few studies have shown that the function of fusiform face area is selectively involved in the perception of faces including a race difference. We investigated the neural substrates of the face-selective region called fusiform face area in the ventral occipital-temporal cortex and same-race memory superiority in the fusiform face area by the event-related fMRI. In our fMRI study, subjects (Oriental-Korean) performed the implicit distinction of the race while they consciously made familiar-judgments, regardless of whether they considered a face as Oriental-Korean or European-American. For race distinction as an implicit task, the fusiform face areas (FFA) and the right parahippocampal gyrus had a greater response to the presentation of Oriental-Korean faces than for the European-American faces, but in the conscious race distinction between Oriental-Korean and European-American faces, there was no significant difference observed in the FFA. These results suggest that different activation in the fusiform regions and right parahippocampal gyrus resulting from superiority of same-race memory could have implicitly taken place by the physiological processes of face recognition.