OBJECTIVE: Many studies have showed that excess or lack of sexual hormones, such as prolactin and testosterone, induced the sexual dysfunction in humans. Little, however, is known about the role of sexual hormones showing normal range in, especially, the basal state unexposed to any sexual stimulation. We hypothesized sexual hormones in the basal state may affect sexual behavior. METHODS: We investigated the association of the sexual hormones level in the basal hormonal state before visual sexual stimulation with the sexual response-related brain activity during the stimulation. Twelve heterosexual men were recorded the functional MRI signals of their brain activation elicited by passive viewing erotic (ERO), happy-faced (HA) couple, food and nature pictures. Both plasma prolacitn and testosterone concentrations were measured before functional MR scanning. A voxel wise regression analyses were performed to investigate the relationship between the concentration of sexual hormones in basal state and brain activity elicited by ERO minus HA, not food minus nature, contrast. RESULTS: The plasma concentration of prolactin in basal state showed positive association with the activity of the brain involving cognitive component of sexual behavior including the left middle frontal gyrus, paracingulate/superior frontal/anterior cingulate gyri, bilateral parietal lobule, right angular, bilateral precuneus and right cerebellum. Testosterone in basal state was positively associated with the brain activity of the bilateral supplementary motor area which related with motivational component of sexual behavior. CONCLUSION: Our results suggested sexual hormones in basal state may have their specific target regions or network associated with sexual response.
Brain ; Cerebellum ; Dopamine ; Heterosexuality ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Plasma ; Prolactin ; Reference Values ; Sexual Behavior ; Testosterone

OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to identify risk factors for future SI and to predict individual-level risk for future or persistent SI among college students. METHODS: Mental health check-up data collected over 3 years were retrospectively analyzed. Students were categorized as suicidal ideators and non-ideators at baseline. Logistic regression analyses were performed separately for each group, and the predicted probability for each student was calculated. RESULTS: Students likely to exhibit future SI had higher levels of mental health problems, including depression and anxiety, and significant risk factors for future SI included depression, current SI, social phobia, alcohol problems, being female, low self-esteem, and number of close relationships and concerns. Logistic regression models that included current suicide ideators revealed acceptable area under the curve (AUC) values (0.7–0.8) in both the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and precision recall (PR) curves for predicting future SI. Predictive models with current suicide non-ideators revealed an acceptable level of AUCs only for ROC curves. CONCLUSION: Several factors such as low self-esteem and a focus on short-term rather than long-term outcomes may enhance the prediction of future SI. Because a certain range of SI clearly necessitates clinical attention, further studies differentiating significant from other types of SI are necessary.
Anxiety ; Area Under Curve ; Depression ; Female ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Mass Screening* ; Mental Health* ; Phobic Disorders ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; ROC Curve ; Suicidal Ideation* ; Suicide

Neuroimaging studies in schizophrenia have remarkably increased and provided some clues to understand its pathophysiology. Here, we reviewed the neuroimaging, studies including volume analysis, functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and diffusion tensor imaging, and findings in both early stage schizophrenia and high-risk group. The reviewed studies suggested that the brain with schizophrenia showed both regional deficits and dysconnectivity of neural circuit in the first episode, even high-risk group as well as chronic schizophrenia. Multimodal neuroimaging or combined approach with genetic, electro- or magneto-encephalographic data could provide promising results to understand schizophrenia in the near future.
Brain ; Diffusion Tensor Imaging ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Neuroimaging ; Schizophrenia

OBJECTIVE: Emoticon as well as face is a tool for the communication of emotion. However, little is known about behavioral response to emoticon, unlike face. To explore the characteristics of behavioral response of emoticon and face, we measured both response time and accuracy in healthy young subjects. METHODS: The 29 subjects were asked to respond to emoticons or faces which contained one among happy, sad, angry/fearful or neutral emotion. Using univariate analysis of variance, behavioral responses were analyzed for three main effects of stimulation (face, emoticon), emotion (happy, sad, angry/fearful, neutral), gender (male, female) and also their interactions. RESULTS: The response to face was faster and more accurate than that to emoticon. Female's response to face, not to emoticon, was faster than male. A common finding of face and emoticon stimuli was that their responses were slower and less accurate in angry/fearful condition than in the rest emotional ones. There was not any interaction among three factors. The different finding was that neutral condition was less informative in only emoticon, not in face, condition. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrated emoticon is different from face in terms of the characteristics in the transfer ability of emotion and in gender effect.
Humans ; Male ; Reaction Time ; Transfer (Psychology)

OBJECTIVES : A neural circuit including amygdala, the hippocampal complex and prefrontal cortex was associated with deficits in facial processing in schizophrenia. These deficits have a significant impact on social functioning in schizophrenia. Both neuropsychological deficits and brain structural abnormalities in first-degree relatives of schizophrenia patients suggest that they may also have the deficit in facial information processing as genetic factors. The purpose of this study was to explore the dysfunction of facial information processing in first-degree relatives of schizophrenia patients using functional magnetic neuroimaging (fMRI). METHODS : Ten non-affected siblings of schizophrenic patients and 10 normal comparison subjects having no schizophrenic siblings underwent fMRI during the d ynamic facial change procedure consisting of presentations of facial emotion and gender discrimination stimuli. The emotion discrimination condition consisted of the presentation of 12 happy faces and 12 disgust/fear faces. The gender discrimination condition consisted of the presentation of 12 male faces and 12 female faces. Condition-specific brain activations were compared between non-affected siblings and normal comparison subjects RESULTS : The facial information processing related brain regions including fusiform gyrus, several areas of frontal, temporal, occipital, and cerebellar regions exhibited more activation during gender discrimination than emotion discrimination tasks in each group. During gender discrimination task, siblings of schizophrenic patients showed less activation in right fusiform gyrus, both middle and superior frontal gyrus, left cuneus, and left inferior frontal gyrus, compared with normal comparison subjects. CONCLUSION : Dysfunctional facial information processing, such as a deficit in gender discrimination, might be an endophenotype of schizophrenia.
Amygdala ; Automatic Data Processing ; Brain ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Endophenotypes ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Magnetics ; Magnets ; Male ; Neuroimaging ; Prefrontal Cortex ; Schizophrenia ; Siblings

PURPOSE: As 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) has previously exhibited antitumor activity and few adverse effects in the treatment of breast cancer, we aimed to specifically assess the benefits of orally administered 5-FU in hormone receptor-negative small breast cancer. METHODS: We retrospectively identified patients with pT1aN0 and hormone receptor-negative breast cancer who underwent surgery between 1993 and 2008 at Asan Medical Center. Patients were divided into two cohorts based on adjuvant doxifluridine (Didox; Shin Poong Pharm. Co., Ltd.) administration, and the disease-free survival (DFS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) was assessed for each cohort. RESULTS: Both cohorts had similar ages and tumor sizes. The DFS and CSS did not significantly differ between the groups (p=0.399 and p=0.126, respectively). When the cohorts were assessed according to human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status, doxifluridine significantly improved DFS among patients with T1aN0 and HER2-positive breast cancer (p=0.037). CONCLUSION: Doxifluridine did not yield a significant reduction in DFS events in hormone receptor-negative early breast cancer. However, a clear benefit was observed in hormone receptor-negative, HER2-positive T1aN0 breast cancer patients.

OBJECTIVE: Resting-state networks (RSNs), including the default mode network (DMN), have been considered as markers of brain status such as consciousness, developmental change, and treatment effects. The consistency of functional connectivity among RSNs has not been fully explored, especially among resting-state-related independent components (RSICs). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This resting-state fMRI study addressed the consistency of functional connectivity among RSICs as well as their spatial consistency between 'at day 1' and 'after 4 weeks' in 13 healthy volunteers. RESULTS: We found that most RSICs, especially the DMN, are reproducible across time, whereas some RSICs were variable in either their spatial characteristics or their functional connectivity. Relatively low spatial consistency was found in the basal ganglia, a parietal region of left frontoparietal network, and the supplementary motor area. The functional connectivity between two independent components, the bilateral angular/supramarginal gyri/intraparietal lobule and bilateral middle temporal/occipital gyri, was decreased across time regardless of the correlation analysis method employed, (Pearson's or partial correlation). CONCLUSION: RSICs showing variable consistency are different between spatial characteristics and functional connectivity. To understand the brain as a dynamic network, we recommend further investigation of both changes in the activation of specific regions and the modulation of functional connectivity in the brain network.
Brain/*physiology ; Brain Mapping ; Humans ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging/*methods ; Male ; Neural Pathways/*physiology ; Regression Analysis ; Rest/*physiology ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to test the reliability and validity of the Korean version of Interpersonal Reactivity Index (K-IRI). METHODS: A total of 484 participants were included in this study. Internal consistency and test/retest reliability (n=35) were examined. Criterion validity of the K-IRI was assessed against Affective Dimension of the 3D-Wisdom Scale. Factor analyses were also performed using principal component analysis with varimax rotation. RESULTS: The internal consistency of the K-IRI was 0.80, and test-retest reliability was 0.76. Criterion validity was evaluated by correlating the K-IRI with the Affective Dimension of 3D-Wisdom Scale (r=0.31). Factor analyses revealed factor structures similar to the original IRI. CONCLUSION: The K-IRI appeared to be a reliable and valid instrument for assessing empathy in the Korean population. This suggests that this scale may be applicable in clinical trials, research, and clinical practice.
Empathy ; Principal Component Analysis ; Reproducibility of Results

OBJECTIVE: The goal of the present study was to identify the brain mechanism involved in the attribution of person's attitude toward another person, using facial affective pictures and pictures displaying an affectively-loaded situation. METHODS: Twenty four right-handed healthy subjects volunteered for our study. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to examine brain activation during attitude attribution task as compared to gender matching tasks. RESULTS: We identified activation in the left inferior frontal cortex, left superior temporal sulcus, and left inferior parietal lobule during the attitude attribution task, compared to the gender matching task. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that mirror neuron system and ventrolateral inferior frontal cortex play a critical role in the attribution of a person's inner attitude towards another person in an emotional situation.
Brain ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Mirror Neurons ; Theory of Mind

OBJECTIVE: People often evaluate others using fragmentary but meaningful personal information in recent days through social media. It is not clear that whether this process is implicit or explicit and what kind of information is more important in such process.We examined the effects of several meaningful fragmentary information onattitude. METHODS: Thirty three KAIST students were provided four fragmentary information about four virtual people that are meaningful in evaluating people and frequently seen in real life situations, and were asked to imagine that person during four follow-up sessions. Explicit and Implicit attitudes were measured using Likert scale and Implicit Association Test respectively. Also, eye tracking was done to find out the most important information. RESULTS: Strong explicit attitudes, were formed toward both men and women, and weak but significant implicit attitudes, were generated toward men only. Eyetracking results showed that people spent more time reading morality information. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that explicit attitudes are made by propositional learning, which is the main component for evaluating others with several meaningful fragmentary information, and implicit attitudes are formed by top down process. And as well as those of previous studies, morality information was suggested as the most important factor in developing attitudes.
Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Learning ; Male ; Morals ; Social Media