• 한국발생생물학회지:발생과생식
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• 제16권4호
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• pp.265-270
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• 2012

Ethanol actions in the amygdala formation may underlie in part the reinforcing effects of ethanol consumption. Previously a physiological phenomenon in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) that is dependent on neuronal network activity, compound postsynaptic potentials (cPSPs) were characterized. Effects of acute ethanol application on the frequency of cPSPs were subsequently investigated. Whole cell patch clamp recordings were performed from identified projection neurons in a rat brain slice preparation containing the amygdala formation. Acute ethanol exposure had complex effects on cPSP frequency, with both increases and decreases dependent on concentration, duration of exposure and age of the animal. Ethanol produces complex biphasic effects on synaptically-driven network activity in the BLA. These findings may relate to subjective effects of ethanol on arousal and anxiolysis in humans.

• 생물정신의학
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• 제26권1호
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• pp.22-31
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• 2019

Objectives Previous studies have revealed inconsistent results on amygdala volume in adult bipolar disorder (BD) patients compared to healthy controls (HC). Since the amygdala encompasses multiple subregions, the subtle volume changes in each amygdala nucleus might have not been fully reflected in the measure of the total amygdala volume, causing discrepant results. Thus, we aimed to investigate volume changes in each amygdala subregion and their association with subtypes of BD, lithium use and clinical status of BD. Methods Fifty-five BD patients and 55 HC underwent T1-weighted structural magnetic resonance imaging. We analyzed volumes of the whole amygdala and each amygdala subregion, including the anterior amygdaloid area, cortico-amygdaloid transition area, basal, lateral, accessory basal, central, cortical, medial and paralaminar nuclei using the atlas in the FreeSurfer. The volume difference was analyzed using a one-way analysis of covariance with individual volumes as dependent variables, and age, sex, and total intracranial volume as covariates. Results The volumes of whole right amygdala and subregions including basal nucleus, accessory basal nucleus, anterior amygdaloid area, and cortico-amygdaloid transition area in the right amygdala of BD patients were significantly smaller for the HC group. No significant volume difference between bipolar I disorder and bipolar II disorder was found after the Bonferroni correction. The trend of larger volume in medial nucleus with lithium treatment was not significant after the Bonferroni correction. No significant correlation between illness duration and amygdala volume, and insignificant negative correlation were found between right central nucleus volume and depression severity. Conclusions Significant volume decrements of the whole amygdala, basal nucleus, accessory basal nucleus, anterior amygdaloid area, and cortico-amygdaloid transition area were found in the right hemisphere in adult BD patients, compared to HC group. We postulate that such volume changes are associated with altered functional activity and connectivity of amygdala nuclei in BD.

• Applied Microscopy
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• 제38권3호
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• pp.213-219
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• 2008

신경계통의 가소성은 신경세포의 변화에 의해 이루어질 뿐 아니라 신경아교세포의 변화에 의해서도 이루어진다. 신경아교세포 중 별아교세포는 신경세포의 기능을 조절하므로 정상적인 뇌의 기능을 유지하는데 매우 중요하다. 뇌에서 편도복합체는 위험 혹은 유해한 일련의 감각정보를 받아들이는 구역으로 받아들인 일련의 이와 같은 정보를 통합하고 변환시켜 공포라는 감정을 만들어낸다. 이런 과정은 편도복합체 신경세포에서 분비되는 신경전달물질의 균형변화에 의해 이루어지며, 신경전달물질의 조절에 별아교세포가 관여하므로 본 연구에서는 출생 전 스트레스와 성장 후에 받은 스트레스가 편도복합체 별아교세포의 세포체에 어떤 영향을 미치는지 조사하였다. 이를 위해 흰쥐를 스트레스를 받지 않은 대조군 (CON), 성장 후 스트레스를 받은 군 (CONR), 출생 전 스트레스를 받은 군 (PNS), 출생 전 스트레스와 성장 후 스트레스를 모두 받은 군 (PNSR)으로 구분하였다. 별아교세포는 GFAP 항체를 이용한 면역조직화학 염색을 시행하여 확인하였으며, methylene blue/azure II로 대조 염색하였다. Neurolucida 프로그램을 이용하여 계측한 별아교세포의 세포체는 일부 편도복합체 신경핵에서 출생 전 스트레스를 받은 PNS군이 대조군에 비하여 면적이 증가하였으며, 이런 경향은 출생 전 스트레스를 받고 다시 성장 후 스트레스를 받은 PNSR군에서 더욱 증가하였다. 따라서 흰쥐의 편도복합체에 분포하는 별아교세포는 스트레스에 영향을 받아 비대해지는 경향을 보인 것으로 나타났으며, 출생 전 스트레스가 성장 후에도 영향을 미치는 것으로 사료된다.

• 감성과학
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• 제21권3호
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• pp.29-48
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• 2018

Although the concept of "common sense" is often taken for granted, judging whether behavior or knowledge is common sense requires a complex series of mental processes. Additionally, different perceptions of common sense can lead to social conflicts. Thus, it is important to understand how we perceive common sense and make relevant judgments. The present study investigated the dynamics of neural representations underlying judgments of what common sense is. During functional magnetic resonance imaging, participants indicated the extent to which they thought that a given sentence corresponded to common sense under the given perspective. We incorporated two different decision contexts involving different cultural perspectives to account for social variability of the judgments, an important feature of common sense judgments apart from logical true/false judgments. Our findings demonstrated that common sense versus non-common sense perceptions involve the amygdala and a brain network for episodic memory recollection, including the hippocampus, angular gyrus, posterior cingulate cortex, and ventromedial prefrontal cortex, suggesting integrated affective, mnemonic, and social functioning in common sense processing. Furthermore, functional connectivity multivariate pattern analysis revealed that interactivity among the amygdala, angular gyrus, and parahippocampal cortex reflected representational features of common sense perception and not those of non-common sense perception. Our study demonstrated that the social memory network is exclusively involved in processing common sense and not non-common sense. These results suggest that intergroup exclusion and misunderstanding can be reduced by experiencing and encoding long-term social memories about behavioral norms and knowledge that act as common sense of the outgroup.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• 제35권1호
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• pp.22-32
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• 2022

Background: Migraine headaches have been associated with sensory hyperactivity and anomalies in social/emotional responses. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the potential involvement of orexin 1 receptors (Orx1R) within the basolateral amygdala (BLA) in the modulation of pain and psychosocial dysfunction in a nitroglycerin (NTG)-induced rat model of migraine. Methods: Adult male Wistar rats were injected with NTG (5 mg/kg, intraperitoneal) every second day over nine days to induce migraine. The experiments were done in the following six groups (6 rats per group): untreated control, NTG, NTG plus vehicle, and NTG groups that were post-treated with intra-BLA microinjection of Orx1R antagonist SB-334867 (10, 20, and 40 nM). Thermal hyperalgesia was assessed using the hot plate and tail-flick tests. Moreover, the elevated plus maze (EPM) and open field (OF) tests were used to assess anxiety-like behaviors. The animals' sociability was evaluated using the three-chamber social task. The NTG-induced photophobia was assessed using a light-dark box. Results: We observed no change in NTG-induced thermal hyperalgesia following administration of SB-334867 (10, 20, and 40 nM). However, SB-334867 (20 and 40 nM) aggravated the NTG-induced anxiogenic responses in both the EPM and OF tasks. The NTG-induced social impairment was overpowered by SB-334867 at all doses. Time spent in the dark chamber of light-dark box was significantly increased in rats treated with SB-334867 (20 and 40 nM/rat). Conclusions: The findings suggest a role for Orx1R within the BLA in control comorbid affective complaints with migraine in rats.

• 대한의용생체공학회:의공학회지
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• 제44권6호
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• pp.377-383
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• 2023

Purpose: There is increasing attention to the application of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for enhancing cognitive functions in subjects to aging, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Despite varying treatment outcomes in tDCS which depend on the amount of current reaching the brain, there is no general information on the impacts of anatomical features associated with AD on tDCS-induced electric field. Objective: The objective of this study is to examine how AD-related anatomical variation affects the tDCS-induced electric field using computational modeling. Methods: We collected 180 magnetic resonance images (MRI) of AD patients and healthy controls from a publicly available database (Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative; ADNI), and MRIs were divided into female-AD, male-AD, female-normal, and male-normal groups. For each group, segmented brain volumes (cerebrospinal fluid, gray matter, ventricle, rostral middle frontal (RMF), and hippocampus/amygdala complex) using MRI were measured, and tDCS-induced electric fields were simulated, targeting RMF. Results: For segmented brain volumes, significant sex differences were observed in the gray matter and RMF, and considerable disease differences were found in cerebrospinal fluid, ventricle, and hippocampus/amygdala complex. There were no differences in the tDCS-induced electric field among AD and normal groups; however, higher peak values of electric field were observed in the female group than the male group. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrated the presence of sex and disease differences in segmented brain volumes; however, this pattern differed in tDCS-induced electric field, resulting in significant sex differences only. Further studies, we will adjust the brain stimulation conditions to target the deep brain and examine the effects, because of significant differences in the ventricles and deep brain regions between AD and normal groups.

• 생물정신의학
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• 제2권1호
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• pp.107-114
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• 1995

This study was to investigate the anatomical evidence of anxiety. MRI was used to study 11 patients with panic disorder and 15 patients with complex partial seizure, and 21 controls. The regions of interest in the MRI were measured with computer-assisted planimetry using the AutoCad and digitizer. The following results were obtained ; 1) The mean age was 49.7(12.4) years in patients with panic disorder and 30.1(7.5) years in patients with complex partial seizure. 2) There were na signi ficant differences between 3 groups in the values of cerebral area, temporal lobe, caudate nucleus, hippocampus, parahippocampus, amygdala, third ventricle and VBR. The right parahippocampal region which attracted most attention in neurobiological studies regarding anxiety, tended to be larger in both study groups compared to the control group, but with no statistical significance. 3) There was lett-right reversal of temporal lobes in both study groups. And these are mainly due to asymmetrical increase in area of the temporal lobe on right side. These results suggest that temporal lobe, especially right temporal, is the anatomical correspondence of anxiety and functional activation of temporo-limbic system may be accompanied by the structural change of temporal lobe.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• 제16권1호
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• pp.25-33
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• 1999

세계적으로 그 처방률이 높은 약물들 중 하나인 benzodiazepine계 약물은, 강력한 불안해소작용, 항경련작용, 최면작용 및 근이완작용을 가지고 있다. Benzodiazepine계 약물의 약리작용기전과 관련하여 불안장애의 병인에서 각종 신경전달계의 역할은 밝혀지고 있다. Benzodiazepine 약물은 편도체와 같은 변연계, 우측 시상하부 및 raphe nuclei에서 GALA성 신경전달을 조절함으로써 불안해소 작용을 나타내는 것으로 보고되었으며, 공포와 스트레스로 인해 유발되는 행동에 있어서 편도체의 역할은 이미 여러 보고를 통해 시사된 바 있다. 본 종설에서는 GABA성 신경전달 조절작용이 있다고 보고된 내인성 benzodiazepine 수용체 배위자의 불안 및 스트레스 반응의 인지 조절작용 및 기억 형성과정 조절작용 등에 관한 연구결과들을 종합하여 본 결과 내인성 benzodiazepine 수용체 배위자들이 불쾌한 학습과정에 동반되는 스트레스와 불안의 정도에 영향을 미침으로써 기억 형성과정을 조절한다는 생각을 뒷받침해 주었다. 또한 각종 행동 검사후 나타나는 뇌조직의 benzodiazepine 유사 물질의 부위별(편도체, 해마, 중격) 농도 감소는 행동 검사에 수반되는 스트레스 및 불안 정도에 비례하므로, 이러한 물질의 감소는 스트레스 및 불안에 대한 변연계의 일반적인 반응으로 생각된다. 부가적으로 이러한 결과는 변연계의 $GABA_A$/benzodiazepine 수용체 복합체는 생체의 스트레스 및 불안반응의 생리, 생화학적 면에서 중추적인 역할을 한다는 생각을 할 수 있게 하는 결과라 할 수 있다.

• 대한불안의학회지
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• 제1권1호
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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.

• Mass Spectrometry Letters
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• 제14권3호
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• pp.91-103
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• 2023

As one of the most common mood disorders, numerous studies have shown depression is the main risk factor for non-suicidal self-harm. The pathogenesis of depression is complex, and a comprehensive and rapid measurement of monoamine neurotransmitters and their metabolites will be very helpful in understanding the pathogenesis of depression. Therefore, a rapid and sensitive underivatized liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the simultaneous monitoring of the levels of ten neurotransmitters and their metabolites in rat serum and limbic system and successfully applied to quantify the changes of neurotransmitter levels in chronic unpredictable mild stress-induced rats. The analytes studied were mainly involved in tyrosine metabolism, tryptophan metabolism, and glutamate cycling pathways, which are important in the pathogenesis of depression. It had been verified the method was sensitive and effective, with satisfactory linearity, and met the requirements of biological sample determination. Levels of neurotransmitters in rat serum, hippocampus, amygdala, prefrontal cortex, striatum, and hypothalamus were determined via the method. The results showed serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and their metabolites were decreased, glutamine was increased, and glutamate was disturbed in chronic unpredictable mild stress-induced depression rats. This method provides a new approach to studying the pathogenesis of depression and other neurological disorders.