• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.207-221
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• 2018

Objectives: The objective of this study was to observe the anti-amnesic effects of Yukmijihwang-tang (YMJHT), on the scopolamine (Sco)-induced memory impairment in C57BL/6 mice through its favorable acetylcholine (ACh). Also, to observe acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity, Choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) mRNA expressions, and antioxidant effect. Methods: Six groups, with a total of 20 normal and 100 Sco treated mice were selected based on their body weights after 1 week of acclimatization, were used in this study as follows. Half of the mice in each group were used for passive avoidance task tests and hippocampus ACh content, AChE activity and ChAT mRNA expression measurement, and the remaining half in each group used for Morris water maze test and measurement of cerebral antioxidant defense system. Results: Amnesia due to AChE activations and destroyed cerebral cortex antioxidant defense systems were markedly and dose-dependently inhibited after 28 days of continuous oral pre-treatment with YMJHT 400, 200 and 100 mg/kg, respectively. The overall effects of YMJHT 400 mg/kg were similar to those of tacrine 10 mg/kg. Conclusions: Based on the results, it was established that oral administration of YMJHT favorably alleviates Sco-induced memory impairment, through preservation of ACh, mediated by up-regulation of ChAT mRNA expressions and related AChE inhibition and augmentation of cerebral antioxidant defense system, at least in a condition of this experiment. The overall effects of YMJHT 400 mg/kg were similar to those of tacrine 10 mg/kg.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.41-48
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• 2016

Motor evoked potential of spinal surgery is known to cause damage due to the movement path of the continuous scan operation and surgery can be performed with minimized disability after surgery. However, if it is not at all formed at the wave motion evoked potential can occur during surgery and, in some cases the size of the waveform to be measured is very small and intermittent. In this case, the surgery cannot provide information about whether there is neurological damage. Increased intensity of the wave-induced motion of the dislocation does not occur if it appears in a very small amplitude stimulus, but changing the inspection area that electrical stimulation of the waveform changes could not be found. However, stimulation of a wide area in the cerebral cortex was found to occur with a waveform in the patients who underwent examination. Through this study, we propose a useful motor evoked potential test. From November to December 2015 three spine surgery patients visited Samsung Medical Center as neurosurgery patients with omission discomfort, gait disturbance, and no symptom of strength before surgery. In spine surgery patients with motor grade weakness, when motor evoked potential waveform has not been measured, in examination of the site of electrical stimulation of the cerebral cortex from entering the C3+C5/C4+C6 or C3+C1/C4+C2 if by the activity of more motor neuron unit, it was found that the waveform is better formed.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.115-122
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• 2016

Sleep, which is an essential part of human life, is modulated by neurotransmitter systems, including gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and dopamine signaling. However, the mechanisms that initiate and maintain sleep remain obscure. In this study, we investigated the relationship between melatonin (MT) and dopamine D2-like receptor signaling in pentobarbital-induced sleep and the intracellular mechanisms of sleep maintenance in the cerebral cortex. In mice, pentobarbital-induced sleep was augmented by intraperitoneal administration of 30 mg/kg MT. To investigate the relationship between MT and D2-like receptors, we administered quinpirole, a D2-like receptor agonist, to MT- and pentobarbital-treated mice. Quinpirole (1 mg/kg, i.p.) increased the duration of MT-augmented sleep in mice. In addition, locomotor activity analysis showed that neither MT nor quinpirole produced sedative effects when administered alone. In order to understand the mechanisms underlying quinpirole-augmented sleep, we measured protein levels of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and cortical protein kinases related to MT signaling. Treatment with quinpirole or MT activated extracellular-signal-regulated kinase 1 and 2 (ERK1/2), p38 MAPK, and protein kinase C (PKC) in the cerebral cortex, while protein kinase A (PKA) activation was not altered significantly. Taken together, our results show that quinpirole increases the duration of MT-augmented sleep through ERK1/2, p38 MAPK, and PKC signaling. These findings suggest that modulation of D2-like receptors might enhance the effect of MT on sleep.

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.55-63
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• 2000

Soeumin Sibjeundaibo-tang (SJDBT) and Soyangin Sibimijihwang-tang (SMJHT) have been used traditionally to improve the systemic blood circulation and biological energy production in the patients with circulatory and neuronal diseases. The object of this study is to determine the protective effects of SJDBT and SMJHT extracts on the spontaneous and glutamate-induced neuronal damages in cultured cells derived from mice cerebral cortex. At 14 days after beginning the cultures, the activity of lactate dehydrogenase released into the culture media was significantly decreased by treatment of cerebroneuronal cells with SJDBT and SMJHT (0.1 mg/ml) for 7 days. By comparison with the normal cells, cerebroneuronal morphology was dramatically changed by treatment of glutamate (1 mM) for 12 hrs, and this was conspicuously recovered by pretreatment of cerebroneural cells with SJDBT and SMJHT (0.1-1.0 mg/ml) for 2 days. Moreover, glutamated-induced DNA fragmentation was also protected by pretreatment of cerebroneuronal cells with those extracts. These results suggest that naturally occurring and glutamate-induced degeneration of cultured cerebrocortical cells may be related, in part, to the process of apoptotic cell death. The pharmacological properties of SJDBT and SMJHT extracts to improve cerebroneuronal degeneration may be considered as one of useful medicines that can prevent cerebrocortical impairments resulted from age-dependent and excitotoxicity-induced neuronal degeneration in human brain.

• The Korean Journal of Pharmacology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.157-163
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• 1993

Intramolecular excimer formation with the fluorescent probe 1,3-di(1-pyrenyl)propane (Py-3-Py) was used to investigate the effects of methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, 1-butanol, 1-pentanol, 1-hexanol, 1-heptanol, 1-octanol, 1-nonanol and 1-decanol on the lateral diffusion of synaptosomal plasma membrane vesicles isolated from bovine cerebral cortex (SPMV). The n-alkanols increased the excimer to monomer fluorescence intensity ratio (I'/I) of Py-3-Py in the SPMV. In a dose-dependent manner, n-alkanols increased lateral diffusion of hydrocarbon region of bulk (inner+outer monolayers) SPMV lipid bilayers, and the potencies of n-alkanols up to l-nonanol increased with carbon chain length. It appears that the potencies in bilayer fluidization due to the lateral diffusion increase by 1 order of magnitude as the carbon chain length increases by two carbon atoms. The cut-off phenomenon was reached at 1-decanol, where further increase in hydrocarbon length resulted in a decrease in pharmacological activity.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.59-63
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• 1971

Current interest in ${\gamma}$-aminobutyric acid (GABA) has arisen from the convergence of several independent line of investigation leading to the demonstration that this and related substances are normal products of brain metabolism and that GABA has an important physiological action upon brain function as well as upon certain peripheral nervous structures. The interest for neurophysiologists has been enhanced by the importance of the discovery for the role of humoral mediator of synaptic transmission or regulator of neuronal activity in the central nervous system, particularly if it may shed some elight upon the nature of central inhibitory processes. In accordance with such an interest and importance, this work was performed in order to standardize the normal content as a preliminary investigation of so-called night active and daytime active animals GABA content in their brains when they are exposed to light and darkness. The method, through which the estimation has made in this work, was paper chromatographic method developed by Maynert and Klingman for the estimation of GABA content in animal tissues. The results obtained are summerized as follows: 1) GABA content in the cerebral cortex of house rat ranged from 90 to $310{\mu}g/gm$ of wet weight. 2) The content of GAGA ranging from 130 to $510{\mu}g/gm$ of wet weight was occurred from midbrain of the rat. 3) GABA content was ranged from 30 to $150 {\mu}g/gm$ of wet weight of the rat cerebellum. 4) The contents of fowl cerebral cortex, midbrain, and cerebellum are estimated as ranging 230-590, 250-620, $50-280{\mu}g/gm$ of wet weight, respectively. As a result, it may be concluded that among three brain tissues of both animals the midbrain is the highest region in GABA content. Fowl brain, on the other side, contains more higher GABA content than the house rat brain does.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.171-180
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• 2019

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to investigate the difference in motor cortical excitability during mental practice and action observation in subjects with forward head posture. Methods : This study was performed in two groups, a forward head posture group (n=17) and a normal posture group (n=17). Electroencephalography (EEG) was conducted to investigate cerebral cortex activity, and six electrodes were attached to Fp1, Fp2, C1, C2, C3, and C4 to measure the relative alpha power, relative beta power, relative gamma power, and mu rhythms. The subjects were requested to perform the four different conditions, which were eye opening, eye closing, mental practice, and action observation for 300 seconds. Results : The results showed that the relative alpha waves showed a significant difference between the normal and forward head posture groups in the C1, C2, C3, and C4 regions with the eyes open (p<.05). The relative beta waves also showed a significant difference between the two groups in the Fp1 and Fp2 regions during action observation (p<.05). The relative gamma waves were significantly different between the normal and forward head posture groups in the Fp1 and Fp2 regions during action observation (p<.05) in C1, C2, and C3 with eyes closed (p<.05) and in C1, C2, C3, and C4 with eyes open (p<.05). Conclusion : The results of this study showed that EEG change in the forward head posture group was different from that in the normal control group in action observation rather than in mental practice. Therefore, we are expected to provide a neurophysiological basis for applying action observation to motor skill learning during exercise for correcting forward head posture.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.29 no.7
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• pp.861-867
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• 2000

Purpose : Neuronal migration disorder(NMD) is a major underlying pathology of patients with intractable epilepsy. The role of NMD on seizure susceptibility or epileptogenecity, however, has not been documented. Methods : External irradiation of total amount of 250 cGY was performed to the fetal rats on days 16(E16) and 17(E17) of gestation. After delivery, the rats of 230-260g were decapitated for the histopathologic study. Epileptog-enecity of the NMD was studied by observing electroclinical events after intraperitoneal kainic acid(KA) injection in the control rats and NMD rats. Results : Histopathologic findings revealed focal and/or diffuse cortical dysplasia consisting of dyslamination of the cerebral cortex and appearance of the cytomegalic neurons, neuronal heterotopia in the periventricular white matter, dispersion of the pyramidal layer and the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus, and agenesis of the corpus callosum. Abnormal expression of neurofilaments protein(NF-M/H) was characteristically observed in the dysplastic neurons of the neocortex and hippocampus. Early ictal onset and prolonged ictal activity on EEG and clinical seizures were observed from the NMD rats unlike with the control rats. Conclusions : Exteranl irradiation on the fetal rats produced NMD. And the rats with NMD were highly susceptible to kainic acid provoked seizures. This animal model would be useful to study the pathophysiology of clinically relevant NMDs.

• Korean Journal of Oriental Medicine
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• v.4 no.1 s.4
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• pp.99-114
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• 1998

The effect of herbal medicine on glutamate mediated neurotoxicity was studied in mouse neurons in primary culture. Immature cerebral cortex neurons (ED14) were maintained for up to 2 weeks in vitro, and we investigated the expression pattern of neuron differentiation and cytotoxicity of cell death, including LDH activity. Neuronal maturation initiated on day 7 and the susceptibility to glutamate-induced cell death was highly sensitive on Day 11 (Fig. 1). Thus, the exposure of the neurons to glutamate caused a dose$(0.1mM{\sim}1mM)$ and time$(4h{\sim}24h)$-dependent neurotoxicity(Fig. 4). Glutamate-induced neurodegeneration was prevented by Shipchondaebotang(SD), Yollyounggobondan(YG), Yugmijihwangwon(YJ) and the death of neurons exposed to glutamate was blocked by the NMDA receptor antagonist MK-801 (Fig. 5).

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.421-428
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• 2011

This study evaluated cholineresterase inhibitory activity of Korean white ginseng extract (WGE), red ginseng extract (RGE), and black ginseng extract (BGE) and the cholinergic effect on scopolamine (SCOP)-induced amnesic mice. WGE, RGE, and BGE inhibited acetylcholineserase (AChE), as well as butyrylcholineserase (BuChE) in a concentration-dependent manner. BGE presented strong inhibition of AChE with an $IC_{50}$ value of 1.72 mg/mL, followed by WGE (5.89 mg/mL), RGE (6.30 mg/mL), respectively. The inhibitory activity of the three ginseng extracts on BuChE showed similar values among the groups. To better understand the mechanisms of the possible effect of ginseng extract on the cholinergic function, this study assessed the expression of the cholinergic markers of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and AChE using western blot and RT-PCR analysis in the brains of amnesic mice. Treatment with ginseng extracts led to inhibition of AChE expression and, the activation of ChAT expression in the hippocampus and the cerebral cortex of amnesic mice as induced by SCOP. The results suggest that ginseng extracts including BGE, appear to modulate the metabolism of acetylchoine (ACh), which would greatly increase synaptic ACh levels and most potently revert SCOP-induced amnesia.