• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.29-35
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• 1997

Many disorders in neuropsychiatric field demonstrate variable motor disturbances as their clinical feature or in their courses of illness and also due to psychopharmacological treatment. Although association of such motor disturbances with the pathophysiological aspect of various neuropsychiatric illness are still lacking, some form of motor disturbance offer a window through which pathophysiologic mechanism of such illnesses can be viewed. Cognitive control of motor functions are briefly reviewed in this article and the importance and method of motor function assessment in major neuropsychiatric disorders are also discussed. Motor dysfunction of major neuropsychiatric illness such as schizophrenia and mood disorders may offer a chance of a deeper understanding on the pathophysiologic aspect of their clinical presentation.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.36-42
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• 1997

Higher cognitive functions refer to the highest level of human intellectual functioning, including concept formation, reasoning, and executive functions. The executive functions can be conceptualized as having four components : volition, planning, purposive action, and effective performance. Because higher cognitive functions represent the most advanced stages of intellectual development, they are often highly susceptible to the effects of brain injuries and mental disorders. The ability to perform effectively within the environment is determined in large part by an individual's adequacy in performing such higher-order functions. Especially executive functions are necessary for appropriate, socially responsible, and effectively self-serving adult conduct. Threfore, an assessment of the psychiatric patient's performance in these areas will provide useful diagnostic information, as well as information concerning social and vocational prognosis.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.19-23
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• 1997

Attention is a phenomenon hard to define, but can be conceptualized as a mental function ranging from sustaining readiness to perceive stimuli to understanding the nature and value and selecting stimuli that are most relevant to the given situation. Manifestations of attention include vigilance, and focused, directed, selective, divided, and sustained attentions. While basic attentional tone is controlled by the interaction among reticular activating system, thalamus and prefrontal cortex, direction and selection of attention is controlled by neural circuits of prefrontal, posterior parietal, and limbic cortex. It is expected that understanding of attention and its neural control could provide answers to the relationship between pathophysiology and clinical symptoms of some major psychiatric disorders. More efforts are required to develop tools to assess more detailed and various aspects of attention in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.3-11
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• 1997

Disturbances in memory are the most common problem in patients with an organic mental syndrome. Other patients with significant psychiatric disorders also often have difficulty with memory. So it is very important in the clinical practice of psychiatry to understand the biological and neurocognitive mechanisms of memory proessing, and to develop the assessment tools with which memory function can be evaluated reliably and validly. Moreover, memory researches provide an important viewpoint from which we can understand the pathophysiological mechanisms of major neuropsychiatric illnesses. This article focuses on our understanding of memory functions in clinical and neurobiological aspects. The relevant material will be presented in four parts : 1) terminologies needed in defining major stages of various types of memory processing : 2) neurochemical and neuroanatomical basis of memory processing : 3) brief bed-side screening tests and more comprehensive neuropsychological tests for the evaluation of memory function : 4) the characteristics of memory dysfunction in several major psychiatric illnesses.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.20-44
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• 2003

Schizophrenics suffer not only psychotic symptoms but also cognitive deficits such as an attentional difficulty, memory impairment, poor abstraction, etc. These cognitive abnormalities have been reported to be significantly related to the social and occupational outcome in schizophrenia. Thus, it is important to explore the cause and pathophysiology for the cognitive abnormalities in patients with schizophrenia. In this regard, hippocampus is one of the most promising brain areas to search for the clue because it is closely involved in memory related function. In fact, during the past several decades, there have been extensive studies supporting hippocampal abnormalities as a cause of schizophrenia in both clinical and preclinical field. In this review, basic anatomical knowledge about hippocampus and major findings of preclinical and clinical studies which investigated the correlation between schizophrenia and hippocampus were highlighted. The contents are 1) anatomical structure of hippocampus, 2) neuronal pathway and receptor distribution in hippocampus, 3) function of hippocampus, 4) hippocampal animal model for schizophrenia, 5) hippocampus-related studies on antipsychotic drugs, and 6) clinical studies in hippocampus in patients with schizophrenia.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.162-167
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• 1997

There is no doubt that dopamine plays a critical role in the etiopathogenesis of schizophrenia. However, there appeared some limitations in explaining the complex phenomena of schizophrenia. Recent research data suggest that dysfunction in serotonergic system may be involved. Before the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia became established, the interest in serotonin(5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) as an etiological substrate of this illness occurred. Recently the importance and extent of 5-HT's involvement in the pathophysiology and mechanism of action of antipsychotic drug is actively investigated. In recent years, therapeutic success of clozapine and risperidones has increased attention on the interaction between the 5-HT and dopamine systems in schizophrenia. This led to the concept of serotonin-dopamine antagonist for antipsychotics. The authors review the evidence for the role of 5- HT in schizophrenia and serotonin-dopamine interaction.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.147-151
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• 2008

This review briefly summarizes the relevant knowledge of psychoneuroimmunological basis for neuroimmunology, with particular emphasis on bidirectional neural-immune interactions. The immune system and the nervous system maintain extensive communication, including hardwiring of sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves to lymphoid organs. Immune system is modulated by various neurotransmitters such as acetylcholine, norepinephrine, substance P and histamine. Neuroendocrine hormones such as corticotrophin-releasing hormone(CRH) or substance P regulate cytokine balance. The immune system modulates brain activity including sleep and body temperature. Recent studies have revealed that psychological factors which influence immunity and immune-related disease may modulate brain-to -immune interaction. But, we still await the scientific research and evidences to prove whether or how behavioral or treatment intervention of stress can influence the development, progress or prevention of a specific disease.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.152-174
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• 2008

There have been vast amount studies regarding immunologic dysregulation in schizophrenia. The mechanism of immune pathogenesis in schizophrenia still is unclear, even though various immune dysfunction have been reported. We endeavored to report on two major hypothesis on immunologic dysregulation in schizophrenia, the infection hypothesis and autoimmune hypothesis. We went on to focus on the autoimmune hypothesis, which has received the most attention over the years. We explored the accumulated data and the rational behind the autoimmune hypothesis and the implications of the autoimmune hypothesis for future research in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.219-223
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• 2008

Refeeding syndrome is a life-threatening but treatable condition occurring in any patients with starvation. Electrolyte imbalance, especially hypophosphatemia and fluid shift result in metabolic changes in various systems. The authors reported a case of refeeding syndrome associated with prolonged starvation due to delusion and hallucination in a 38-year-old schizophrenia patient. Hypophosphatemia, hypokalemia, edema and elevation of liver enzyme was occurred despite careful treatment. The symptoms were improved after consistent electrolyte supplement. Close observation and repetitive monitoring are important to prevent refeeding syndrome.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.3-13
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• 2004

Objectives:Functional magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI) is one of the most useful techniques for assessing localized changes in cerebral blood flow and oxygenation using diverse challenge paradigms. This review presents the results of fMRI studies relating to schizophrenia. Methods:Several fMRI articles on this subject in psychiatric journals were surveyed. Results:Even with some methodological limitations, most studies showed activity differences between schizophrenics and control subjects. Conclusion:fMRI extends our understanding of the pathophysiological basis of schizophrenia and offer an opportunity for the assessment and management of its pathology.