• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.348-358
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to investigate brain activation pattern and functional connectivity network during experimental design on the biological phenomena. Twenty six right-handed healthy science teachers volunteered to be in the present study. To investigate participants' brain activities during the tasks, 3.0T fMRI system with the block experimental-design was used to measure BOLD signals of their brain and SPM2 software package was applied to analyze the acquired initial image data from the fMRI system. According to the analyzed data, superior, middle and inferior frontal gyrus, superior and inferior parietal lobule, fusiform gyrus, lingual gyrus, and bilateral cerebellum were significantly activated during participants' carrying-out experimental design. The network model was consisting of six nodes (ROIs) and its six connections. These results suggested the notion that the activation and connections of these regions mean that experimental design process couldn't succeed just a memory retrieval process. These results enable the scientific experimental design process to be examined from the cognitive neuroscience perspective, and may be used as a basis for developing a teaching-learning program for scientific experimental design such as brain-based science education curriculum.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.29 no.7
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• pp.751-758
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to investigate brain activation pattern and functional connectivity network during classification on the biological phenomena. Twenty six right-handed healthy science teachers volunteered to be in the present study. To investigate participants' brain activities during the tasks, 3.0T fMRI system with the block experimental-design was used to measure BOLD signals of their brain. According to the analyzed data, superior, middle and inferior frontal gyrus, superior and inferior parietal lobule, fusiform gyrus, lingual gyrus, and bilateral cerebellum were significantly activated during participants' carrying-out classification. The network model was consisting of six nodes (ROIs) and its fourteen connections. These results suggested the notion that the activation and connections of these regions mean that classification is consist of two sub-network systems (top-down and bottom-up related) and it functioning reciprocally. These results enable the examination of the scientific classification process from the cognitive neuroscience perspective, and may be used as basic materials for developing a teaching-learning program for scientific classification such as brain-based science education curriculum in the science classrooms.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.96-103
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• 2022

Purpose: The survival of organisms critically depends on avoidance responses to life-threatening stimuli. Information about dangerous situations needs to be remembered to produce defensive behavior. To investigate underlying brain regions to process information of danger, manganese-enhanced MRI (MEMRI) was used in olfactory fear-conditioned rats. Materials and Methods: Fear conditioning was conducted in male Sprague-Dawley rats. The animals received nasal injections of manganese chloride solution to monitor brain activation for olfactory information processing. Twenty-four hours after manganese injection, rats were exposed to electric foot shocks with odor cue for one hour. Control rats were exposed to the same odor cue without foot shocks. Forty-eight hours after the conditioning, rats were anesthetized and their brains were scanned with 9.4T MRI. Acquired images were processed and statistical analyses were performed using AFNI. Results: Manganese injection enhanced brain areas involved in olfactory information pathways in T1 weighted images. Rats that received foot shocks showed higher brain activation in the central nucleus of the amygdala, septum, primary motor cortex, and preoptic area. In contrast, control rats displayed greater signals in the orbital cortex and nucleus accumbens. Conclusion: Nasal delivery of manganese solution enhanced olfactory signal pathways in rats. Odor cue paired with foot shocks activated amygdala, the central brain region in fear, and related brain circuits. Use of MEMRI in fear conditioning provides a reliable monitoring technique of brain activation for fear learning.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.47-53
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• 2005

This study aim to investigate the effects of supply of oxygen enhances cerebral activation through increased activation in the brain and using a 3 Tesla fMRI system. Five volunteers (right handed, average age of 21.3) were selected as subjects for this study. Oxygen supply equipment that provides 30% oxygen at a constant rate of 15L/min was given using face mask. A 3 Tesla fMRI system using the EPI BOLD technique, and three-pulse sequence technique get of the true axial planes scanned brain images. The author can get the perfusion images of the brain by oxygen inhalation with susceptibility contrast EPI sequence at the volunteers. Complex movement consisted of a finger task in which subjects flexed and extended all fingers repeatedly in union, without the fingers touching each other. Both task consisted of 96 phases including 6 activations and rests contents. Post-processing was done on MRDx software program by using cross-correlation method. The result shows that there was an improvement in performance and also increased activation in several areas in the oxygen method. These finding demonstrates that while performing cognitive tasks, oxygen administration was due to increase of cerebral activation.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.309-318
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• 2024

Compared to other organs, the brain has limited antioxidant defenses. In particular, the hippocampus is the central region for learning and memory and is highly susceptible to oxidative stress. Glial cells are the most abundant cells in the brain, and sustained glial cell activation is critical to the neuroinflammation that aggravates neuropathology and neurotoxicity. Therefore, regulating glial cell activation is a promising neurotherapeutic treatment. Quinic acid (QA) and its derivatives possess anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Although previous studies have evidenced QA's benefit on the brain, in vivo and in vitro analyses of its anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties in glial cells have yet to be established. This study investigated QA's rescue effect in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced behavior impairment. Orally administering QA restored social impairment and LPS-induced spatial and fear memory. In addition, QA inhibited proinflammatory mediator, oxidative stress marker, and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation in the LPS-injected hippocampus. QA inhibited nitrite release and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) phosphorylation in LPS-stimulated astrocytes. Collectively, QA restored impaired neuroinflammation-induced behavior by regulating proinflammatory mediator and ERK activation in astrocytes, demonstrating its potential as a therapeutic agent for neuroinflammation-induced brain disease treatments.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.370-374
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• 2002

Administration of dopamine agonist, apomorphine (2 mg/kg, s.c.), produces cage climbing behavior in mice that exhibit typical dopaminergic stimulation. The present study investigated the pCREB expression level in several brain regions following apomorphine treatment in order to determine whether the increased the dopaminergic activation produced by apomorphine accompanies the changes in pCREB immunoreactivity. A mouse brain was removed at 0min, 10 min, 30 min, 1 h, 2 h, 7 h, and 24 h after apomorphine treatment. The brain tissue was fixed by an intracardiac perfusion with ice-cold 4％ paraformaldehyde in PBS. Immunohistochemical study was conducted using the ABC-DAB method. The data showed that the immunoreactivity of pCREB increased in the striatum, nucleus-accumbens, piriform cortex and the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus of a mouse brain 30 min after the apomorphine treatment. Increased immunoreactivity began to diminish 2 h after the apomorphine treatment in all the brain regions measured. The time course for the pCREB immunoreactivity was similar to the behavioral response induced by the apomorphine treatment. These results suggest that activation of the dopamine receptor is accompanied by an increase in pCREB expression in the mouse brain.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.420-423
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• 2011

Since CKD-712 has been developed as an anti-inflammatory agent, we examined the effect of CKD-712 during TLR4 signaling. Using HEK293 cells expressing TLR4, CKD-712 was pre-treated 1 hr before LPS stimulation. Activation of NF-${\kappa}B$ was assessed by promoter assay. The activation of ERK, JNK, p38, IRF3 and Akt was measured by western blotting. CKD-712 inhibited the NF-${\kappa}B$ signaling triggered by LPS. The activation of ERK, JNK, p38 or IRF3 was not inhibited by CKD-712. On the contrary the activation of these molecules was augmented slightly. The activation of Akt with stimulation of LPS was also enhanced with CKD-712 pre-treatment at lower concentration, but was inhibited at higher concentration. We suggest that during TLR4 signaling CKD-712 inhibits NF-${\kappa}B$ activation. However, CKD-712 augmented the activation of Akt as well as Map kinases. Therefore, we suggest that CKD-712 might have a role as an immunomodulator.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.213-222
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• 2024

Objective: Stroke is a leading cause of disability worldwide, often leaving survivors with significant cognitive and motor impairments. Dual-task (DT), which involves performing cognitive and motor tasks simultaneously, can influence brain activation patterns and functional recovery in stroke patients. Design: A systematic review Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, databases including MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, and Web of Science were searched for studies assessing cortical activation via functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) during DT performance in stroke patients. Studies were selected based on predefined eligibility criteria, focusing on changes in hemodynamic responses and their correlation with task performance. Results: Eight studies met the inclusion criteria. Findings indicate that DT leads to increased activation in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), premotor cortex (PMC), and posterior parietal cortex (PPC), suggesting an integrated cortical response to managing concurrent cognitive and motor demands. However, increased activation did not consistently translate to improved functional outcomes, highlighting the complex relationship between brain activation and rehabilitation success. Conclusions: DT interventions may enhance cortical activation and neuroplasticity in post-stroke patients, but the relationship between increased brain activity and functional recovery remains complex and requires further investigation. Tailored DT programs that consider individual neurophysiological and functional capacities are recommended to optimize rehabilitation outcomes.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.145-153
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• 2013

Objectives : Neuroinflammation is characterized by microglial activation and the expression of major inflammatory mediators. The present study investigated the inhibitory effect of ginsenoside Rg1 ($GRg_1$), a principle active ingredient in Panax ginseng, on pro-inflammatory cytokines and microglial activation induced by systemic lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatment in the mouse brain tissue. Methods : Varying doses of $GRg_1$ was orally administered (10, 20, and 30 mg/kg) 1 h before the LPS injection (3 mg/kg, intraperitoneally). The mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the brain tissue was measured using the quantitative real-time PCR method at 4 h after the LPS injection, Microglial activation was evaluated using western blotting and immunohistochemistry against ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule 1 (Iba1) in the brain tissue. Cyclooxigenase-2 (COX-2) expressions also observed using western blotting and immunohistochemistry at 4 h after the LPS injection, In addition, double-immunofluorescent labeling of tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ (TNF-${\alpha}$) and COX-2 with microglia and neurons was processed in the brain tissue. Results : $GRg_1$ (30 mg/kg) significantly attenuated the upregulation of TNF-${\alpha}$, interleukin (IL)-$1{\beta}$ and IL-6 mRNA in the brain tissue at 4 h after LPS injection. Morphological activation and Iba1 protein expression of microglia induced by systemic LPS injection were reduced by the $GRg_1$ (30 mg/kg) treatment. Upregulation of COX-2 protein expression in the brain tissue was also attenuated by the $GRg_1$ (30 mg/kg) treatment. Conclusion : The results suggest that $GRg_1$ is effective in the early stage of neuroinflammation which causes neurodegenerative diseases.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.535-539
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• 2015

Olfactory stimulation activates multiple signaling cascades in order to mediate activity-driven changes in gene expression that promote neuronal survival. To date, the mechanisms involved in activity-dependent olfactory neuronal survival have yet to be fully elucidated. In the current study, we observed that olfactory sensory stimulation, which caused neuronal activation, promoted activation of the phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway and the expression of Bcl-2, which were responsible for olfactory receptor neuron (ORN) survival. We demonstrated that Bcl-2 expression increased after odorant stimulation both in vivo and in vitro. We also showed that odorant stimulation activated Akt, and that Akt activation was completely blocked by incubation with both a PI3K inhibitor (LY294002) and Akt1 small interfering RNA. Moreover, blocking the PI3K/Akt pathway diminished the odorantinduced Bcl-2 expression, as well as the effects on odorant-induced ORN survival. A temporal difference was noted between the activation of Akt1 and the expression of Bcl-2 following odorant stimulation. Blocking the PI3K/Akt pathway did not affect ORN survival in the time range prior to the increase in Bcl-2 expression, implying that these two events, activation of the PI3K pathway and Bcl-2 induction, were tightly connected to promote post-translational ORN survival. Collectively, our results indicated that olfactory activity activated PI3K/Akt, induced Bcl-2, and promoted long term ORN survival as a result.