• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.49-60
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• 2017

Objectives The purpose of this study is to report the effectiveness of Korean medicine on treating autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in childhood. Methods We treated an 8-years-old patient who was diagnosed with autism (grade II) with herbal medicine, acupuncture and electric moxibustion. Every 11 months, Korean-Childhood Autism Rating Scale (K-CARS) was used to assess the patient's symptom progression. Results After 21 months of Korean medicine treatment, the child's overall health was improved. Moreover, language ability, emotional control, memory and cognitive abilities got better, as well as anxiety, agitation, and aggressive behavior related to ASD were also decreased. K-CARS score at the initial stage of the treatment was 39.5 points, which can be considered as severe autism. After 11 months of the treatment, the K-CARS score was 34.5 points which is mild-moderate autism. Conclusions Korean medicine treatment can be effective in improving symptoms of ASD. However, further studies are needed to demonstrate the treatment benefits to ASD.

• Journal of Korean geriatric psychiatry
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.86-91
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• 2014

Objective : The aims of this study were to investigate the prevalence of co-morbid depression and related factors of depression in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients. Methods : Nine hundred and six MCI individuals were included in this study. Depression was defined as major and minor depressive disorder according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV). Depression-related demographic and clinical factors were also explored through multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results : In MCI patients, the prevalence of depression as defined according to the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria was 1.8% for major depressive disorder, 11.4% for minor depressive disorder, and overall 13.2% for both. Multivariate logistic regression showed that increased prevalence of overall depression was associated with female gender and non-amnestic subtype of MCI. Conclusion : Our findings based on a large number of MCI subjects who visited memory clinic indicated that more than ten percent of MCI patients have comorbid depression. In addition, female and non-amnestic subtype of MCI patients seems to be more vulnerable to depression.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.194-201
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• 1998

Objectives : This study was aimed to investigate the differences in intelligence and neuropsychological test findings between patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder(OCD) and normal controls, and to find out brain functions. Methods : To examine the brain functions, Halsted Reitan neuropsychological test, computerized neuropsychological test, Wechsler Memory scale and K-WAIS were applied. Subjects of this study consisted of 12 patients with OCD and 17 normal controls who were matched for age, handedness and education year. Results : The verbal intelligence of OCD was significantly higher than that of normal controls. But there was no significant difference in total and performance intelligence between groups. The total time of tactual performance test in OCD was significantly delayed than that in normal controls. Also the visual recall of Wechsler memory scale in OCD was more impaired than that in normal controls. Conclusion : These findings support that visual-spatial memory, which is related to basal ganglia, is impaired in OCD.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.117-120
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• 2006

Localized amnesia is characterized by a failure to recall events that occurred during a circumscribed period of time. Localized amnesia is the most common type of dissociative amnesia. It is assumed that this is a disorder of memory retrieval. Recent neuroimaing studies reported that posterior cingulate cortex may play a important role in memory(autobiographical) retrieval. The authors reported a case of localized amnesia with mass on left posterior cingulate cortex.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.473-477
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• 2011

Alzheimer's disease (AD), one of the most common forms of dementia, is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder symptomatically characterized by the decline in memory and cognitive abilities. To date, the successful therapeutic strategy to treat AD is to maintain the levels of acetylcholine (ACh) by inhibiting acetylcholinesterase (AChE) to lead five drugs in clinical use. In this study, several coumarin derivatives were designed based on the lead structure of scopoletin and evaluated for their AChE inhibitory activities.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.194-202
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• 2010

Alzheimer's disease(AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disorder and constitutes about two thirds of dementia. Despite a lot of effort to find drugs for AD worldwide, an efficient medicine that can cure AD has not come yet, which is due to the complicated pathogenic pathways and progressively degenerative properties of AD. In its early clinical phase, it is important to find the subtle alterations in synapses responsible for memory because symptoms of AD patients characteristically start with pure impairment of memory. Attempts to find the target synaptic proteins and their pathogenic pathways will be the most powerful alternative strategy for developing AD medicine. Here we review recent progress in deciphering the role of target synaptic proteins related to AD in hippocampal glutamatergic synapses.

• Journal of Dental Rehabilitation and Applied Science
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.179-186
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• 2007

The decrease of masticatory function caused by tooth loss leads to a decrease of cerebral blood flow volume resulting in impairment of cognitive function and learning memory disorder. However, the reduced mastication-mediated morphological alteration in the central nervous system (CNS) responsible for senile deficit of cognition, learning and memory has not been well documented. In this study, the effect of the loss of the molar teeth (molarless condition) on the hippocampal expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) protein was studied by immunohistochemical techniques. The results were as follows : 1. The molarless mice showed a lower density of pyramidal cells in the cornu ammonis 1 (CA1) and dentate gyrus (DG) region of the hippocampus than control mice. 2. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that the molarless condition enhanced the time-dependent increase in the cell density and hypertrophy of GFAP immunoreactivity in the CA1 region of the hippocampus. The molarless condition enhanced an time-dependent decrease in the number of neurons in the hippocampal formation and the time-dependent increase in the number and hypertrophy of GFAP-labeled cells in the same region. The data suggest a possible link between reduced mastication and histological changes in hippocampal formation that may be one risk factor for senile impairment of cognitive function and spatial learning memory.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.102-108
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• 2010

Objective : Although studies have explored responses to fear had been assessed using various psychophysiological methods, results have been inconsistent. The present study examined psychophysiological responses in healthy subjects after viewing fear stimuli in a video clip for set up future fear related psychophysiological studies. Methods : We monitored three psychophysiological variables (electroencephalography, skin temperature, and heart rate variability) in adults who watched either a control stimulus movie clip or a fear-inducing movie clip. Results : In 16 healthy adults, theta activity decreased significantly after the fear stimulus as compared to the normal stimulus. However the participants showed no differences in heart rate variability or skin temperature between the fear and normal control stimulus situations. Conclusion : In the limbic area, theta activity corresponds with information processing, integration into previous memories and long-term potentiation. In this study, we suggest decreased theta activity represents amygdalo-hippocampal activity, associated with fear, short-term memory, and memory extinction in the healthy adults. Further studies are needed to evaluate the interaction of fear, memory, and the pathophysiology of anxiety disorder in patient with anxiety disorders.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.88-92
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• 2003

Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), including snoring, sleep apnea and upper airway resistance syndrome are common problems in children. The pathophysiological mechanism of SDB in children is unclear but may include hypoxemia and changes in sleep architecture. Children with SDB show reduced neurocognitive function, and memory and attentional capacity. Furthermore, these children show increased problematic behaviour and reduced school performance. Whether early recognition and treatment of SDB in children may improve neurocognitive function and school performance remains to be fully evaluated in the future.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.48-54
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• 2014

Alzheimer's disease is progressive neurodegenerative disorder by the loss of memory and learning abilities. Codonopsis lanceolata (C. lanceolata) is traditional medicinal plant used for the treatment of inflammatory diseases. The aim of study was to evaluate the effect of steamed C. lanceolata on scopolamine-induced memory impairment in the Morris water maze test and passive avoidance test. In addition, this study investigated the neuroprotective effects of steamed C. lanceolata on glutamate-induced cell death in HT22 cells using MTT assay. The results showed that steamed C. lanceolata (500 mg/kg body weight, p.o.) reversed spatial memory impairment by scopolamine in Morris water maze test and passive avoidance test. Steamed C. lanceolata attenuated memory impairment by scopolamine compared with common C. lanceolata. In addition, administration of steamed C. lanceolata significantly also reduced cell death. We suggest that steaming process more improve cognitive enhancing and neuroprotective effect of C. lanceolata than common C. lanceolata.