• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.175-187
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• 2017

Transcranial direct current stimulation (TDCS) is a clinically safe and effective method of delivering weak electric current to modulate cortical activities. And based on the cumulating scientific evidences, the method is recommended to treat major depressive disorder (MDD) and other psychiatric disorders. In this paper, we review the development of TDCS in the rising field of neuromodulation. Then with suggested biochemical and physical mechanism of TDCS, we summarize the reported cases of using TDCS to alleviate major neuropsychiatric disorders. And, in particular, the treatment of MDD is highlighted as an illustrative example of using TDCS. We discuss here the therapeutic potentials of this method in psychiatry. And in closing remarks, we evaluate the current technical limitations and suggest the future directions of this method in both the clinical and research aspects.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.137-143
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• 2006

One of the most widely recognized neurophysiologic endophenotypes for schizophrenia is deficient gating or inhibition of the P50 component of the auditory event-related potential(ERP). A deficit in P50 sensory gating refers to a dysfunction in the mechanism responsible for modulating the brain's sensitivity of filtering out irrelevant or background stimuli, perhaps as a result of dysfunction in inhibitory neural circuits. In this paper, we review the neuronal and genetic aspects as well as medication effects on P50 in schizophrenia.

• 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.24-28
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• 1997

Visual perception is a complex process engaging many different aspects of brain functioning. Like other cognitive functions, the extensive cortical distribution and complexity of visual perceptional activites make them hihgly vulnerable to brain injury. Dectection and characterization of perceptual disorders require a careful clinical assessment as well as the application of selected neuropsychological tests. In this article we reviewed neuropsychological assessment of visual perception and constructional abilities. And the principal visuospatial disorders are discussed, the associated neuropsychiatric disorders are presented.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.168-178
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• 1997

The serotonin has been known to play important roles in pathology of the mood disorders. We summerize the evidences of serotonin in pathology of the mood disroders in a view of neuroanatomical and neurochemical aspects. Nowaday, the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors(SSRIs) may be practically the first line of antidepressants with traditional tricyclic antidepressants(TCAs). Authors review the role of serotonin in the treatment of the mood disorders, in a view of the general considerations in selecting antidepressants, pharmacology, therapeutic indications, side effects, doses of medication, drug-discontinuation syndrome, drug-to-drug interactions, and special therapeutic situations.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.350-357
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• 2018

Glial cells are receiving much attention since they have been recognized as important regulators of many aspects of brain function and disease. Recent evidence has revealed that two different glial cells, astrocytes and microglia, control synapse elimination under normal and pathological conditions via phagocytosis. Astrocytes use the MEGF10 and MERTK phagocytic pathways, and microglia use the classical complement pathway to recognize and eliminate unwanted synapses. Notably, glial phagocytosis also contributes to the clearance of disease-specific protein aggregates, such as ${\beta}$-amyloid, huntingtin, and ${\alpha}$-synuclein. Here we reivew recent findings showing that glial cells are active regulators in brain functions through phagocytosis and that changes in glial phagocytosis contribute to the pathogenesis of various neurodegenerative diseases. A better understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms of glial phagocytosis in healthy and diseased brains will greatly improve our current approach in treating these diseases.

• Journal for History of Mathematics
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.353-363
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• 2016

In mathematical population ecology which is an academic field that studies how populations of biological species change as times flows at specific locations in their habitats, PDE models have been studied in many aspects and found to have different properties from the classical ODE models. And different approaches to PDE type models in mathematical biology are still being tried currently. This article investigate various forms to express diffusion effects and review the history of PDE models involving diffusion terms in mathematical ecology. Semi-linear systems representing the spatial movements of each individual as random simple diffusion and quasi-linear systems describing more complex diffusions reflecting interspecific interactions are studied. Also it introduce a few of important problems to be solved in this field.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.563-575
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• 2014

Concrete which is a composite material is frequently used in construction works. Properties and behavior of concrete are significant under the effect of different loading cases. Impact loading which is a sudden dynamic one may have destructive effects on structures. Testing apparatuses are designed to investigate the impact effect on test members. Artificial Neural Network (ANN) is a computational model that is inspired by the structure or functional aspects of biological neural networks. It can be defined as an emulation of biological neural system. In this study, impact parameters as acceleration and impact force values of a reinforced concrete slab are obtained by using a testing apparatus and essential test devices. Afterwards, ANN analysis which is used to model different physical dynamic processes depending on several variables is performed in the numerical part of the study. Finally, test and predicted results are compared and it's seen that ANN analysis is an alternative way to predict the results successfully.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.28-41
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• 2007

Virtual reality technology is now being used in neuropsychological assessment and real-world applications of many psychiatric disorders, including anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, child psychiatric disorders, dementia, and substance related disorders. These applications are growing rapidly due to recent evolution in both hardware and software of virtual reality. In this paper, we review these current applications and discuss the future work of clinical, ethical, and technological aspects needed to refine and expand these applications to psychiatry.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.46-55
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• 1998

Any compound which disrupts the integrity of psychological aspects of performance, in particular, cognitive ability and psychomotor function analogous to the psychological behaviors of routine life, is known to be behaviorally toxic. A significant level of behavioral toxicity will interfere with patient safety and quality of life, and also may be counter-therapeutic by exacerbating the condition that the drug was prescribed for. Now, behavioral toxicity of psychotropic drugs has become one of the main growth areas of psychopharmacological research. Evaluation of the potential of drug-induced behavioral toxicity is important not only to the experimental researcher involved in human psychopharmacology, but also to the clinical practitioner treating psychiatric patients. This article attempts to describe behavioral toxicity of the three classes of psychotropic drugs - benzodiazepines, antidepressants and neuroleptics. After a brief discussion of some methodological issues arising in the investigation of behavioral toxicity, each of these drug classes is reviewed in the context of practical importance rather than purely scientific concern. The last session summarizes some suggestions for future studies on drug-induced behavioral toxicity.