OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate anti-depressive effects of exercise on child and adolescent and its association with brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). METHODS: Twenty nine middle school boys (age 13.3±0.7) were divided into two groups, 15 boys for control group and 14 in the experimental group. The control group participated in a regular exercise program, 3 times a week for 15 weeks. During the same period, the experimental group participated in an aerobic exercise program specifically designed to enhance anti-depressive effect of exercise. Serum BDNF level and its performance of each group on the Beck Depression Index (BDI), Children's Depression Inventory (CDI), Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED), Aggression Questionnaire (AK-Q), and Stroop task were compared before and after the exercise program. RESULTS: Scores of BDI, CDI, SCARED, and AK-Q were significantly lower in both groups after the exercise programs compared to those before the programs. The Stroop task performances were significantly improved after the programs. However, there were no significant differences between two exercise programs, except SCARED separation anxiety, AK-Q physical, and verbal aggression scores. Also, no association was found between serum BDNF level and anti-depressive effects of exercise. CONCLUSION: Our preliminary results suggest a possible effect of exercise on depression, anxiety, aggression, and cognition of child and adolescents.
Adolescent* ; Aggression ; Anxiety ; Anxiety, Separation ; Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor* ; Child ; Cognition ; Depression ; Exercise ; Humans ; Task Performance and Analysis

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to examine the effects of osmotic-controlled release oral delivery system methylphenidate on changes in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). METHODS: A total of 26 children with ADHD (21 boys, mean age: 9.2±2.05 years old) were recruited. Each ADHD participant was examined for changes in rCBF using technetium-99m-hexamethylpropylene amine oxime brain SPECT before and after 8 weeks methylphenidate medication. Brain SPECT images of pediatric normal controls were selected retrospectively. SPECT images of ADHD children taken before medication were compared with those of pediatric normal controls and those taken after medication using statistical parametric mapping analysis on a voxel-wise basis. RESULTS: Before methylphenidate medication, significantly decreased rCBF in the cerebellum and increased rCBF in the right precuneus, left anterior cingulate, right postcentral gyrus, right inferior parietal lobule and right precentral gyrus were observed in ADHD children compared to pediatric normal controls (p-value<.0005, uncorrected). After medication, we observed significant hypoperfusion in the left thalamus and left cerebellum compared to pediatric normal controls (p-value<.0005, uncorrected). In the comparison between before medication and after medication, there was significant hyperperfusion in the superior frontal gyrus and middle frontal gyrus and significant hypoperfusion in the right insula, right caudate, right middle frontal gyrus, left subcallosal gyrus, left claustrum, and left superior temporal gyrus after methylphenidate medication (p-value<.0005, uncorrected). CONCLUSION: This study supports dysfunctions of fronto-striatal structures and cerebellum in ADHD. We suggest that methylphenidate may have some effects on the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, and cerebellum in children with ADHD.
Basal Ganglia ; Brain ; Cerebellum ; Child* ; Frontal Lobe ; Humans ; Methylphenidate* ; Parietal Lobe ; Rabeprazole ; Retrospective Studies ; Thalamus ; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between personality of parent and offspring, and offspring's psychological adaptation. METHODS: We examined temperament and character of 65 parents and their offspring (measured using the Junior Temperament and Character Inventory and Temperament and Character Inventory) and offspring's internalizing (anxiety, depression) and externalizing (delinquency, hyperactivity) problems. RESULTS: The internalizing problems of offspring were positively associated with harm avoidance (HA) of offspring and parent, and negatively associated with self-directedness (SD) of offspring and parent. The externalizing problems of offspring were positively associated with novelty seeking of offspring, and were predicted by SD of parent. The interaction between parent's HA and offspring's HA predicted higher levels of anxiety of offspring. CONCLUSION: The association between the offspring's personality and internalizing and externalizing problems can depend on the personality of the parent.
Adaptation, Psychological* ; Anxiety ; Humans ; Parents ; Temperament

OBJECTIVES: Children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may have deficits in time perception, as assessed by the time estimation task and the time reproduction task, however its age-related trajectory is not yet determined. Therefore we examined the correlation between accuracy of time perception tasks and age, and the association between accuracy of estimation tasks and reproduction tasks. METHODS: Sixty-three patients with ADHD, aged 8 to 18 years tested the tasks for five time durations (2, 4, 12, 45, and 60 seconds). Accuracy of tasks was assumed differences (absolute values) between raw results of tasks and original time durations. Spearman's correlation analysis was performed to determine correlation between accuracy of time perception tasks and age. Multivariate regression was used to determine the association of accuracy of estimation tasks with accuracy of reproduction tasks. RESULTS: Age showed correlation with accuracy of estimation tasks, but not with that of reproduction tasks. We observed that the higher the accuracy in 12, 45, and 60 seconds duration time reproduction, the higher the accuracy in longer seconds duration time estimation. CONCLUSION: Age was correlated with time estimation accuracy whereas there was no impact on time reproduction accuracy. Association of each of the two time perception tasks, particularly in longer time duration, suggested specific impairments in time perception.
Adolescent* ; Age Factors ; Child* ; Humans ; Reproduction ; Time Perception*

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to examine the association between current suicidal or violent behavior and deficits of specific neurocognitive variables in child and adolescent inpatient samples diagnosed with mood disorder. METHODS: A retrospective review of the charts of mood disorder patients hospitalized at Samsung Medical Center between April 2004 and April 2015 was conducted. Child and adolescent patients aged between 10 and 18 years old and those who finished neurocognitive function testing during their hospitalization were included. Among them patients whose full scale IQ was between 85 and 115 were selected (N=111). Participants were first divided into two age-groups-group Y (10≤age≤15, N=54) and group O (16≤age≤18, N=57)-because neurocognitive function test tools were different according to age [Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) for 10 to 15-year-old patients, Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) for 16 to 18-year-old patients]. They were then divided according to their suicidal or violent behavior-non suicidal/violent group (NG), suicidal group (SG), violent group (VG), and both suicidal/violent group (BG). The Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) was checked for measurement of participants' behavior and the Gordon Diagnostic System was checked for measurement of their attention efficiency. Kruskal-Wallis Test and Tukey test was used to determine the differences in neurocognitive function between groups. RESULTS: O-SG patients showed lower scores on the comprehension subscale of WAIS-III than O-NG patients (χ2=8.454, p=.015). O-VG patients showed lower scores on the block design subscales of WAIS than O-SG patients (χ2=7.496, p=.024). Y-VG patients showed higher scores in aggressive behavior, externalizing problems, and total problems scores of CBCL. CONCLUSION: This study showed relationship between specific neurocognitive deficits and suicidal or violent behavior. These relationships were significant in relatively older adolescents.
Adolescent* ; Adult ; Checklist ; Child Behavior ; Child* ; Comprehension ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Inpatients ; Intelligence ; Mood Disorders* ; Retrospective Studies

Pharmacotherapy is considered the first line therapy in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Many patients also choose complementary medicine such as dietary supplements. Omega-3 has shown some efficacy for improving ADHD symptoms in several studies. The goal of this review is to integrate the previous research findings on omega-3 and understand the issues worth considering in the treatment of ADHD. The terms "attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity", "omega-3", and "dietary supplements" were searched on PubMed, Cochrane, and Google scholar. The search was further limited to clinical trials, reviews, and meta-analyses. Trials that examined treatments for ADHD, used randomized design, and placebo-controlled trials were included. Eighteen clinical trials with a total of 1,141 participants were included in this review. Fifteen trials had parallel designs, comparing an omega-3/6 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFAs) or a combination of both to a placebo and three compared omega-3/6 PUFAs to a placebo and psycho-stimulants. Seven of the included trials showed significant improvements in groups receiving omega-3/6 PUFAs compared to placebo groups, however, 11 trials showed no significant differences. Evidence that PUFAs supplementation provides benefits for ADHD was yet limited. Mixed results were due to selection variability criteria, variability of supplementation, and short follow-up intervals.
Complementary Therapies ; Dietary Supplements ; Drug Therapy ; Fatty Acids, Unsaturated ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study is to find out the differences in psychopathology, temperament, and character factors between young adults with and without childhood attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms. METHODS: The subjects consisted of 314 university students (male=72, female=242) in Gongju. They were divided into childhood ADHD group (N=54) and normal group (N=260) to the Wender-Utah Rating Scale. Participants were assessed using Korean Adult ADHD Scale, Beck Depression Inventory-II, Beck Anxiety Inventory, Kimberly Young's Internet Addiction Test, Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, Paranoia Scale, Korean-Schizotypal Ambivalence Scale, Lubben Social Network Scale, and Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised. Descriptive statistics, t-test, chi-square, spearman correlation, and stepwise multiple regression were applied to analyze the data. RESULTS: Participants with childhood ADHD symptoms had high level of adult ADHD symptoms (p<.001), impulsiveness (p=.001), depression (p<.001), anxiety (p<.001), internet addiction (p<.001), paranoia tendency (p<.001) and low level of self-esteem (p<.001) compared to normal group. Self-directedness (p<.001) was lower, Harm avoidance (p=.001) and Self-transcendence (p=.029) were higher in the childhood ADHD group. In correlation and stepwise multiple regression, childhood ADHD symptoms were significantly associated with cooperativeness (r=-0.515 and beta=-0.547, p<.001 respectively). CONCLUSION: This result showed that young adults with childhood ADHD symptoms had various forms of psychopathology and childhood ADHD symptoms were influenced by character such as cooperativeness. Therefore, more thorough evaluation regarding childhood ADHD symptoms is needed.
Adult* ; Anxiety ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Depression ; Humans ; Internet ; Paranoid Disorders ; Psychopathology* ; Temperament* ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVES: 'Taegyo,' prenatal education, is steeped into Korean culture. Although there has been a traditional focus on providing education and care for the fetus in Korea, there is a lack of medical evidence for its effectiveness. METHODS: The authors assessed the scientific basis for 'Taegyo' by reviewing the evidences. RESULTS: 'Taegyo' in Korea began with the spread of Buddhist culture from China, and transmitted by word-of-mouth. The first 'Taegyo' book, the Tae-gyo-shin-gi, was published on 1803. Modern prenatal education is very diverse. However, only a few studies on its effect have been conducted. Development of medicine, especially obstetrics, fetology, pediatrics, psychiatry, and etc., has learned that many factors, including bad environmental conditions and maternal stress, influenced against the fetus and mother. As for the paternal side, occupation, smoking, and stress were also revealed to have consequences for the development of the fetus. On the contrary, adequate maternal nutrition, exercise, and music stimulation positively impact the fetal development and healthy birth. CONCLUSION: Traditional contents of 'Taegyo' were proved to have effectiveness from evidence-based medicine and animal experiments. We need further studies to explore the impact of prenatal education for the fetal development and maternal health.
Animal Experimentation ; China ; Education ; Evidence-Based Medicine ; Female ; Fetal Development ; Fetus ; Humans ; Korea ; Maternal Health ; Mothers ; Music ; Obstetrics ; Occupations ; Parturition ; Pediatrics ; Pregnant Women ; Prenatal Care ; Prenatal Education* ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Stress, Psychological

We treated the persistent ruminative vomiting of a 13-year-old autistic boy by using a behavioral and psychopharmacological approach in a closed ward. Before the interventions, the patient had lost about 10kg of body weight due to very high-frequency ruminative vomiting. Together with psychopharmacological trials, the psychiatric treatment included a combination of a behavioral approach and food regulation that emphasized food restrictions, and we provided regular light meals. There was a considerable reduction of the ruminative vomiting and 2kg weight gain was achieved during the admission. These therapeutic gains were maintained at the 4-month follow-up assessment and the vomiting symptom reached a near-zero level and the weight loss were recovered by about 8kg. The issues related to the treatment approaches for ruminative vomiting with autism are discussed.
Adolescent ; Autistic Disorder ; Body Weight ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Light ; Meals ; Vomiting ; Weight Gain ; Weight Loss

OBJECTIVES: This preliminary study evaluated the efficacy of two short-term programs for reducing depressive symptoms in female adolescents with depressive disorder. METHODS: The participants were 23 middle school students who were randomly assigned to three groups: the cognitivebehavioral program group, the psychoeducation-program group and the no-intervention control group. RESULTS: At postintervention, the students in cognitive-behavioral program group reported significantly lower levels of depressive symptoms, negative self-statement, automatic thought and psychiatric symptoms than did those in the nointervention group and those in the psychoeducation-program group. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the cognitive-behavioral program for female adolescent with depressive disorder was more effective in reducing depressive symptoms than the psychoeducation-program.
Adolescent ; Depression ; Depressive Disorder ; Female ; Humans