• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.43-47
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• 2004

Interests in human brain functionality and its connectivity have much frown up. DTI (Diffusion tensor imaging) has been known as a non-invasive MR) technique capable of providing information on water diffusion in tissues and the organization of white matter tract. Thus. It can provide us the information on the direction of brain fiber tract and the connectivity among many important cortical regions which can not be examined by other anatomical or functional MRI techniques. In this study. was used the 24 bit color coding scheme on the IDL platform in the windows environment to visualize the orientation of major fiber tracts of brain such as main association, projection, commissural fibers and corticospinal tracts. We additionally implemented a color coding scheme for each directional component and FA (fractional anisotropy), and used various color tables for them to be visualized more definitely. Consequently we implemented a fancy and basic technique to visualize the directional information of fiber tracts efficiently and we confirmed the feasibility of the 24 bit color coding scheme in DTI by visualizing main fiber tracts.

• Research in Mathematical Education
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.117-139
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• 2015

For the purpose of determining neurophysiological mechanism of math anxiety, we conducted an EEG measurement for 22 sixth grade elementary students including 11 students with high math anxiety (HMA group), and 11 students with low math anxiety (LMA group). We found that in HMA group, delta wave was significantly generated from the right frontal lobe, and in LMA group, four paths are clearly connected while they perform math tasks (right inferior occipital gyrus ${\leftrightarrow}$ left superior parietal lobule /left middle frontal gyrus ${\leftrightarrow}$ left inferior parietal lobule /left middle frontal gyrus ${\leftrightarrow}$ right inferior parietal lobule / right middle frontal gyrus ${\leftrightarrow}$ right inferior parietal lobule). According to the above results we suggest that math anxiety is related to emotions associated with pain, reduces working memory and has a negative effect on math performance.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.1812-1824
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• 2016

The neural dynamics underlying the causal network during motor planning or imagery in the human brain are not well understood. The lack of signal processing tools suitable for the analysis of nonlinear and nonstationary electroencephalographic (EEG) hinders such analyses. In this study, noise-assisted multivariate empirical mode decomposition (NA-MEMD) is used to estimate the causal inference in the frequency domain, i.e., partial directed coherence (PDC). Natural and intrinsic oscillations corresponding to the motor imagery tasks can be extracted due to the data-driven approach of NA-MEMD, which does not employ predefined basis functions. Simulations based on synthetic data with a time delay between two signals demonstrated that NA-MEMD was the optimal method for estimating the delay between two signals. Furthermore, classification analysis of the motor imagery responses of 29 subjects revealed that NA-MEMD is a prerequisite process for estimating the causal network across multichannel EEG data during mental tasks.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.64 no.6
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• pp.251-259
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• 2021

Psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) is a neuropsychiatric condition that causes a transient alteration of consciousness and loss of self-control. PNES, which occur in vulnerable individuals who often have experienced trauma and are precipitated by overwhelming circumstances, are a body's expression of a distressed mind, a cry for help. PNES are misunderstood, mistreated, under-recognized, and underdiagnosed. The mind-body dichotomy, an artificial divide between physical and mental health and brain disorders into neurology and psychiatry, contributes to undue delays in the diagnosis and treatment of PNES. One of the major barriers in the effective diagnosis and treatment of PNES is the dissonance caused by different illness perceptions between patients and providers. While patients are bewildered by their experiences of disabling attacks beyond their control or comprehension, providers consider PNES trivial because they are not epileptic seizures and are caused by psychological stress. The belief that patients with PNES are feigning or controlling their symptoms leads to negative attitudes of healthcare providers, which in turn lead to a failure to provide the support and respect that patients with PNES so desperately need and deserve. A biopsychosocial perspective and better understanding of the neurobiology of PNES may help bridge this great divide between brain and behavior and improve our interaction with patients, thereby improving prognosis. Knowledge of dysregulated stress hormones, autonomic nervous system dysfunction, and altered brain connectivity in PNES will better prepare providers to communicate with patients how intangible emotional stressors could cause tangible involuntary movements and altered awareness.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.25-35
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• 2011

Objectives : Cerebral laterality is thought to be an important marker for neurodevelopment. Prenatal testosterone could influence both cerebral laterality and 2nd to 4th finger length ratio(2D : 4D). EEG coherence and 2D : 4D were examined to investigate the relationship between prenatal testosterone level and cerebral laterality. Methods : EEG was recorded in 24 healthy subjects in the eyes closed resting state. Differences in 2D : 4D finger ratio were used to discriminate "masculine finger type" and "feminine finger type" groups. The 2D : 4D ratio was lower and greater than one for the "masculine finger type" group and "feminine finger type" group, respectively. We used coherence analysis to estimate the cortical functional connectivity. Results : There were statistically meaningful relationships among cerebral functional connectivity, sex and finger ratio. Man and masculine finger type group showed higher intra-hemispheric coherence than those of woman and feminine finger type group. Woman and feminine finger type group showed higher inter-hemispheric coherence than those of man and masculine finger type group. Conclusions : These results imply that prenatal testosterone might act as important determinants of cerebral laterality. Further examination of the relationship between 2D : 4D and EEG coherence in schizophrenia could give some clues for the neurodevelopmental hypothesis of schizophrenia genesis.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.223-230
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• 2005

This paper presents a new approach to investigate spatial correlation between independent components of brain alpha activity in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG). To avoid potential problems of simultaneous fMRI and EEG acquisitions in imaging pure alpha activity, data from each modality were acquired separately under a 'three conditions' setup where one of the conditions involved closing eyes and relaxing, thus making it conducive to generation of alpha activity. The other two conditions -- eyes open in a lighted room or engaged in a mental arithmetic task, were designed to attenuate alpha activity. Using a Mixture Density Independent Component Analysis (MD-ICA) that incorporates flexible non-linearity functions into the conventional ICA framework, we could identify the spatiotemporal components of fMRI activations and EEG activities associated with the alpha rhythm. Then, the sources of the individual EEG alpha activity component were localized by a Maximum Entropy (ME) method that is specially designed to find the most probable dipole distribution minimizing the localization error in sense of LMSE. The resulting active dipoles were spatially transformed to 3D MRls of the subject and compared to fMRI alpha activity maps. A good spatial correlation was found in the spatial distribution of alpha sources derived independently from fMRI and EEG, suggesting the proposed method can localize the cortical areas responsible for generating alpha activity successfully in either fMRI or EEG. Finally a functional connectivity analysis was applied to show that alpha activity sources of both modalities were also functionally connected to each other, implying that they are involved in performing a common function: 'the generation of alpha rhythms'.

• Journal of Broadcast Engineering
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.738-750
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• 2022

In this study, we reviewed and discussed whether auditory stimuli with short length can evoke emotion-related neurological responses. The findings implicate that if personalized sound tracks are provided to XR users based on machine learning or probability network models, user experiences in XR environment can be enhanced. We also investigated that the arousal-relaxed factor evoked by short auditory sound can make distinct patterns in functional connectivity characterized from background EEG signals. We found that coherence in the right hemisphere increases in sound-evoked arousal state, and vice versa in relaxed state. Our findings can be practically utilized in developing XR sound bio-feedback system which can provide preference sound to users for highly immersive XR experiences.

• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.9-16
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• 2018

Objective : The aim of this research was to provide EEG (electroencephalogram) basic data in clinical areas through identifying measurement tools, measurement methods, and evaluation and analysis method of the EEG which is a neurological change measurement of patients with brain injury. Methods : Previous studies were found in an electronic database (e.g., PubMed, Science Direct). The keyword search terms were 'Electroencephalography', 'stroke', 'intervention OR training'. Results : Utilitizing brain-computer interface, the EEG, which is a tool for measuring the effects of rehabilitation through changes of brain activation state. Also, it could identify functional brain reorganization mechanism. Whenever a research utilized the EEG, which is composed of various channels, different types of electrode, and varied electrode locations. Conclusions : Through this review, we found that Electroencephalography is possible to neurologically verify the effectiveness of intervention and formulate an intervention strategy for efficient occupational therapy.

• Korean Journal of Cognitive Science
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.267-297
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• 2017

The anatomical structure of the brain reflects a great amount of information about an individual's cognitive ability. The present study reviewed research on developmental changes in brain structure in relation to biological maturation and intellectual growth focusing on children and adolescents. The purpose of the present study was to achieve an understanding of how children and adolescents' brain matures with development and also to examine whether individual differences in intelligence influences the development of brain structure. The first section introduces methods of measurement and analysis of brain structure, such as voxel-based morphometry and structural covariance. The second section reviews studies on the biological maturation of the brain and variables that influence brain development such as sex, environmental factors, and mental disorders, etc. The third section introduces the Parieto-Frontal Integration Theory of intelligence and reviews studies on the association between intelligence and developmental changes of the brain, including changes in structural covariance and functional connectivity. We conclude with a discussion on educational/clinical implications of this work and directions for future studies.

• Clinical Psychopharmacology and Neuroscience
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.449-460
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• 2018

Objective: Prior functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) work has revealed that children/adolescents with disruptive behavior disorders (DBDs) show dysfunctional reward/non-reward processing of non-social reinforcements in the context of instrumental learning tasks. Neural responsiveness to social reinforcements during instrumental learning, despite the importance of this for socialization, has not yet been previously investigated. Methods: Twenty-nine healthy children/adolescents and 19 children/adolescents with DBDs performed the fMRI social/non-social reinforcement learning task. Participants responded to random fractal image stimuli and received social and non-social rewards/non-rewards according to their accuracy. Results: Children/adolescents with DBDs showed significantly reduced responses within the caudate and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) to non-social (financial) rewards and social non-rewards (the distress of others). Connectivity analyses revealed that children/adolescents with DBDs have decreased positive functional connectivity between the ventral striatum (VST) and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) seeds and the lateral frontal cortex in response to reward relative to non-reward, irrespective of its sociality. In addition, they showed decreased positive connectivity between the vmPFC seed and the amygdala in response to non-reward relative to reward. Conclusion: These data indicate compromised reinforcement processing of both non-social rewards and social non-rewards in children/adolescents with DBDs within core regions for instrumental learning and reinforcement-based decision-making (caudate and PCC). In addition, children/adolescents with DBDs show dysfunctional interactions between the VST, vmPFC, and lateral frontal cortex in response to rewarded instrumental actions potentially reflecting disruptions in attention to rewarded stimuli.