• 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.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 Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.72-80
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• 1995

Because the origins of stress are various, complex, and often indirectly-causing, reactions to stress are also various according to it's psychopathologies and mechanisms. For a proper management of stress, first of all accurate evaluation and diagnosis must be done. Then, treatment against the stress also can be considered, if necessary. In case of extreme stress, psychotropic drugs such as short-term anxiolytics or antidepressants can be used according to it's specific target symtoms. But long-term treatment of stress must be directed by increasing the individual's usual coping strategy or decreasing the externally causing stresses. Reactions to stress and drug interactions. which are not the whole of the biologic treatment strategy, are very important As a results, in our discussions, we ought to describe the issues by focusing the interactions between the drug and it's reaction to stress rather than the reaction to stress or drug itself and aimed at helping the proper treatment against the stress.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.158-164
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• 2009

Trichotillomania is a neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by repetitive pulling out of one's hair. We present a trichotillomania case study illustrating the effectiveness of habit reversal training, which has recently been found, in western countries, to be a very effective cognitive behavioral treatment. The refractory patient in our study had previously received 1 year of drug treatment and psychiatric consultation for the disorder. We administered 10 habit reversal training sessions, which was followed by an obvious improvement in the patient's trichotillomania symptoms. Our observations indicate that habit reversal training might be effective in the treatment of trichotillomania.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.5-11
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• 2003

Sleep apnea syndrome is a common clinical disorder characterized by intermittent cessation of airflow at nose and mouth during sleep. The clinical significance of this syndrome is that it is one of the most common causes of excessive daytime sleepiness. It can also cause neuropsychiatric, cardiovascular, and cerebrovascular complications. The standard for diagnosis of sleep apnea syndrome is nocturnal polysomnography. Because polysomnography is a time-consuming and expensive test, many efforts have been made to replace polysomnography with a simpler system of monitoring, but no method has yet been approved as a definitive investigation method. The goals of treatment for this syndrome are to eliminate excessive daytime sleepiness and to reduce the risk of possible cardiovascular complications. Continuous positive airway pressure is the most definite and widely accepted treatment for achieving these goals. Other treatments such as surgical treatment, oral appliances, and behavioral therapy may be useful for selected patients who are mildly affected.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.76-84
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• 2000

Recently, music therapy is widely used for various kinds of diseases. Music therapy has beneficial effects on emotional disorder and neuropsychiatric diseases in particular. This study was performed to evaluate the effect of singing on physiologic changes. We checked peripheral oxygen saturation and heart rate as indices of physiologic changes. The subjects were 19 control and 30 test group who were registered on the D welfare center for the elderly and agreed to join this study. They had been singing regularly for 6 months. The data were collected just before and after the singing. Data were analyzed with mean, t-test, and paired t-test using SPSS $PC^+$ program. The results were as follows: 1. Heart rate of the singing group decreased significantly after singing.(p<0.05) 2. Peripheral oxygen saturation of the singing group increased significantly after singing.(p<0.05) In conclusion, singing, a kind of aerobic exercise, has beneficial effects on cardiopulmonary system.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.175-180
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• 2016

Carbon monoxide (CO) intoxication is a leading cause of the variable neuropsychiatric impairment. Despite of widely known central nerve system complications after CO intoxication, peripheral neuropathy due to CO poisoning is rare and has been under-recognized. We report interesting case of a 29-year-old male who suffered from motor weakness and sensory abnormalities in his lower extremity following acute CO intoxication. The patient revealed direct and indirect signs of peripheral neuropathy of the left inferior gluteal and sciatic nerve on magnetic resonance imaging.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.149-157
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• 2008

Dopamine is a major neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous system (CNS) that regulates neuroendocrine functions, locomotor activity, cognition and emotion. The dopamine system has been extensively studied because dysfunction of this system is linked to various pathological conditions including Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, Tourette's syndrome, and drug addiction. Accordingly, intense efforts to delineate the full complement of signaling pathways mediated by individual receptor subtypes have been pursued. Dopamine D1-like receptors are of particular interest because they are the most abundant dopamine receptors in CNS. Recent work suggests that dopamine signaling could be regulated via dopamine receptor interacting proteins (DRIPs). Unraveling these DRIPs involved in the dopamine system may provide a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying CNS disorders related to dopamine system dysfunction and may help identify novel therapeutic targets.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.81-84
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• 2002

SINE-R retroposons have been derived from human endogenous retrovirus HERV-K family and found to be hominoid specific. Both SINE-R retroposons and HERV_K family are potentially capable of affecting the expression of closely located genes. Using the genomic DNA from patients with schizophrenia, we identified 26 SINE-R retroposons and analyzed them with the sequences derived from the hominoid primates. The SINE-R retroposons from schizophrenia showed 89.7-96.6％ sequence similarities with the sequence of the schizo-cDNA clone that derived from postmortem tissue from the frontal cortex of an individual suffering from schizophrenial. Phylogenetic analysis using the neighbor-joining method revealed that the new SINE-R retroposons in schizophrenia have proliferated independently during hominid evolution. Such retroposons have great relevance to genomic change connected to human diseases. The data suggest that new SINE-R retroposons identified in schizophrenia deserve further investigation as potential leads on the understanding of neuropsychiatric diseases.

• BMB Reports
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.239-244
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• 2009

New neurons are continually generated in the subgranular zone of the dentate gyrus and in the subventricular zone of the lateral ventricles of the adult brain. These neurons proliferate, differentiate, and become integrated into neuronal circuits, but how they are involved in brain function remains unknown. A deficit of adult hippocampal neurogenesis leads to defective spatial learning and memory, and the hippocampi in neuropsychiatric diseases show altered neurogenic patterns. Adult hippocampal neurogenesis is not only affected by external stimuli but also regulated by internal growth factors including BDNF, VEGF and IGF-1. These factors are implicated in a broad spectrum of pathophysiological changes in the human brain. Elucidation of the roles of such neurotropic factors should provide insight into how adult hippocampal neurogenesis is related to psychiatric disease and synaptic plasticity.