Biomedical subjects

In Young Kim

Publications and source records attributed to In Young Kim.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Pattern classification using principal components of cortical thickness and its discriminative pattern in schizophrenia.

We proposed pattern classification based on principal components of cortical thickness between schizophrenic patients and healthy controls, which was trained using a leave-one-out cross-validation. The cortical thickness was measured by calculating the Euclidean distance between linked vertices on the inner and outer cortical surfaces. Principal component analysis was applied to each lobe for practical computational issues and stability of principal components. And, discriminative patterns derived at every vertex in the original feature space with respect to support vector machine were analyzed with definitive findings of brain abnormalities in schizophrenia for establishing practical confidence. It was simulated with 50 randomly selected validation set for the generalization and the average accuracy of classification was reported. This study showed that some principal components might be more useful than others for classification, but not necessarily matching the ordering of the variance amounts they explained. In particular, 40-70 principal components rearranged by a simple two-sample t-test which ranked the effectiveness of features were used for the best mean accuracy of simulated classification (frontal: (left(%)|right(%))=91.07|88.80, parietal: 91.40|91.53, temporal: 93.60|91.47, occipital: 88.80|91.60). And, discriminative power appeared more spatially diffused bilaterally in the several regions, especially precentral, postcentral, superior frontal and temporal, cingulate and parahippocampal gyri. Since our results of discriminative patterns derived from classifier were consistent with a previous morphological analysis of schizophrenia, it can be said that the cortical thickness is a reliable feature for pattern classification and the potential benefits of such diagnostic tools are enhanced by our finding.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

How does distortion correction correlate with anisotropic indices? A diffusion tensor imaging study.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine a suitable registration algorithm for diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) using conventional preprocessing tools [statistical parametric mapping (SPM) and automated image registration (AIR)] and to investigate how anisotropic indices for clinical assessments are affected by these distortion corrections. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Brain DTI data from 15 normal healthy volunteers were used to evaluate four spatial registration schemes within subjects to correct image distortions: noncorrection, SPM-based affine registration, AIR-based affine registration and AIR-based nonlinear polynomial warping. The performance of each distortion correction was assessed using: (a) quantitative parameters: tensor-fitting error (Ef), mean dispersion index (MDI), mean fractional anisotropy (MFA) and mean variance (MV) within 11 regions of interest (ROI) defined from homogeneous fiber bundles; and (b) fiber tractography through the uncinate fasciculus and the corpus callosum. Fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) were calculated to demonstrate the effects of distortion correction. Repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to investigate differences among the four registration paradigms. RESULTS: AIR-based nonlinear registration showed the best performance for reducing image distortions with respect to smaller Ef (P<.02), MDI (P<.01) and MV (P<.01) with larger MFA (P<.01). FA was decreased to correct distortions (P<.0001) whether the applied registration was linear or nonlinear and was lowest after nonlinear correction (P<.001). No significant differences were found in MD. CONCLUSION: In conventional DTI processing, anisotropic indices of FA can be misestimated by noncorrection or inappropriate distortion correction, which leads to an erroneous increase in FA. AIR-based nonlinear distortion correction would be required for a more accurate measurement of this diffusion parameter.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

An MRI study of structural variations in schizophrenia using deformation field morphometry.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has an important role in investigating the changes in brain structure that are associated with schizophrenia. In this study, MRI scans of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia (37 males; 19 females; 17-42 years of age) were compared with those of an age- and sex-matched group of normal subjects (37 males; 19 females; 18-40 years of age). Based on the images of the healthy control subjects, we constructed a representative average brain template. Automated image analysis techniques were used to measure differences in the regional nonlinear deformation fields between the two groups. A deformation field, which measures the spatial transformation to deform a template of brain anatomy to each individual data, was obtained as a three-dimensional displacement vector in each voxel. There was a significantly greater magnitude of the deformation fields in the superior frontal and parietal lobes as well as in the cingulate gyrus connecting both lobes of the patients with schizophrenia than in those of healthy controls, suggesting that these cerebral regions have a significantly higher structural variability in schizophrenia.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

A novel quantitative cross-validation of different cortical surface reconstruction algorithms using MRI phantom.

Cortical surface reconstruction is important for functional brain mapping and morphometric analysis of the brain cortex. Several methods have been developed for the faithful reconstruction of surface models which represent the true cortical surface in both geometry and topology. However, there has been no explicit comparison study among those methods because each method has its own procedures, file formats, coordinate systems, and use of the reconstructed surface. There has also been no explicit evaluation method except visual inspection to validate the whole-cortical surface models quantitatively. In this study, we presented a novel phantom-based validation method of the cortical surface reconstruction algorithm and quantitatively cross-validated the three most prominent cortical surface reconstruction algorithms which are used in Freesurfer, BrainVISA, and CLASP, respectively. The validation included geometrical accuracy and mesh characteristics such as Euler number, fractal dimension (FD), total surface area, and local density of points. CLASP showed the best geometric/topologic accuracy and mesh characteristics such as FD and total surface area compared to Freesurfer and BrainVISA. In the validation of local density of points, Freesurfer and BrainVISA showed more even distribution of points on the cortical surface compared to CLASP.

Algorithms↗

PubMed2006

Improved noise reduction in single fiber auditory neural responses using template subtraction.

When recording single-unit responses from neural systems, a common problem is the accurate detection of spikes (action potentials) in the presence of competing unwanted (noise) signals. While some sources of noise can be readily dealt with through filtering or established "template subtraction" techniques, other sources present a more difficult problem. In particular, noise components introduced by power supplies, which contain harmonics of the power-line frequency, can be particularly troublesome in that they can mimic the shape of the desired spikes. The aforementioned standard techniques typically fail to effectively deal with such "noise". In this study, we propose the use of a novel template-subtraction scheme that involves estimating the power-line noise waveform and using cross-correlation techniques to subtract it from the recordings. This technique requires two key steps: (1) cross-correlation analysis of each recorded waveform to extract a robust representation of the power-line noise waveform and (2) a second level of cross-correlation to successfully subtract that representation from each recorded waveform. This paper describes this algorithm and provides examples of its implementation using actual recorded waveforms that were contaminated with these power-line noise signals. An improvement (reduction) in the noise level is reported, as are suggestions for future implementation of this strategy.

Action Potentials↗

PubMed2006

Gender difference analysis of cortical thickness in healthy young adults with surface-based methods.

We have examined gender differences of cortical thickness using a 3-D surface-based method that enables more accurate measurement in deep sulci and localized regional mapping compared to volumetric analyses. Cortical thickness was measured using a direct method for calculating the distance between corresponding vertices from inner and outer cortical surfaces. We normalized cortical surfaces using 2-D surface registration and performed diffusion smoothing to reduce the variability of folding patterns and to increase the power of the statistical analysis. In stereotaxic space, significant localized cortical thickening in women was found extensively in frontal, parietal and occipital lobes, including the superior frontal gyrus (SFG), superior parietal gyrus (SPG), inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and postcentral gyrus (PoCG) in the left hemisphere and mostly in the parietal lobe, including the SPG in the right hemisphere. In the temporal lobe, small regions of the left and right caudal superior temporal gyrus (STG) and the left temporal pole showed significantly greater cortical thickness in women. The temporal lobe shows relatively less significant thickening than other lobes in both hemispheres. In native space, significantly greater cortical thickness in women was detected in left parietal region, including SPG and PoCG. No significant local increases of cortical thickness were observed in men in both spaces. These findings suggest statistically significant cortical thickening in women in localized anatomical regions, which is consistent with several previous studies and may support a hypothesis of sexual dimorphism.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Increased water diffusivity in the frontal and temporal cortices of schizophrenic patients.

Schizophrenia has been suggested to be the result of both macroscopic and microscopic abnormalities in the brain. Although no definitive clinico-pathological correlations have been found to reconcile the many facets inherent in this disorder, the recent development of the magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has allowed us to gather useful information regarding the microcircuitry of the brain. Specifically, the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) reflects the degree of diffusion barriers and heterosynaptic communication for the brain neurotransmitter. Nineteen patients with DSM-IV schizophrenia and 21 age- and sex-matched control subjects participated in DTI, and the severity of the patients' symptoms was evaluated according to the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). The ADC values were determined and compared between patients and control subjects via voxel-based morphometry. The results show an increased ADC in the bilateral fronto-temporal regions of the schizophrenic patients, as compared with those of the control subjects. In addition, the ADC values in the area of the right insular were correlated with the negative syndromes from the PANSS. Our findings of increased water diffusivity in the fronto-temporal regions of schizophrenic patients and the correlation between negative symptom scales and the ADC in the right insular region indicate that damaged brain microcircuitry might contribute to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. These findings contribute towards integrating micro and macrostructural abnormalities and syndromes of schizophrenia.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Fractal dimension in human cortical surface: multiple regression analysis with cortical thickness, sulcal depth, and folding area.

Fractal dimension (FD) has been widely used to provide a quantitative description of structural complexity in the cerebral cortex. FD is an extremely compact measure of shape complexity, condensing all details into a single numeric value. We interpreted the variation of the FD in the cortical surface of normal controls through multiple regression analysis with cortical thickness, sulcal depth, and folding area related to cortical complexity. We used a cortical surface showing a reliable representation of folded gyri and manually parcellated it into frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital regions for regional analysis. In both hemispheres the mean cortical thickness and folding area showed significant combination effects on cortical complexity and accounted for about 50% of its variance. The folding area was significant in accounting for the FD of the cortical surface, with positive coefficients in both hemispheres and several lobe regions, while sulcal depth was significant only in the left temporal region. The results may suggest that human cortex develops a complex structure through the thinning of cortical thickness and by increasing the frequency of folds and the convolution of gyral shape rather than by deepening sulcal regions. Through correlation analysis of FD with IQ and the number of years of education, the results showed that a complex shape of the cortical surface has a significant relationship with intelligence and education. Our findings may indicate the structural characteristics that are revealed in the cerebral cortex when the FD in human brain is increased, and provide important information about brain development.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Repeated 28-day oral toxicity study of ketoconazole in rats based on the draft protocol for the "Enhanced OECD Test Guideline No. 407" to detect endocrine effects.

We performed a 28-day repeated-dose toxicity study of ketoconazole, a widely used an antimycotic drug, based on the draft protocol of the "Enhanced OECD Test Guideline 407" (Enhanced TG407) to investigate whether ketoconazole has endocrine-mediated properties according to this assay. Seven-week-old SD rats were administered with ketoconazole daily by oral gavage at doses of 0, 6.25, 25 or 100 mg kg(-1) day(-1) for at least 28 days. The ketoconazole-treated male rats showed reduction of epididymis and accessory sex organ weights, spermatid retention in the seminiferous tubules, decrease of testosterone and increases of estradiol, luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicular stimulating hormone (FSH). A prolongation of the estrous cycle and increases of estradiol, LH and FSH were observed in the treated female rats. Thyroxin and triiodothyronine were decreased and thyroid-stimulating hormone was increased in both sexes; however, there were no compound-related microscopic lesions in the thyroid gland or changes in the thyroid weight. The endocrine-related effects of ketoconazole could be detected by the parameters examined in the present study based on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) protocol, suggesting that the Enhanced TG407 protocol should be a suitable screening test for detection of endocrine-mediated effects of chemicals.

Administration, Oral↗

PubMed2006

Pilot study for assessing the behaviors of patients with schizophrenia towards a virtual avatar.

This study examined whether a virtual avatar could be perceived as a real human by patients with mental disease, especially schizophrenia, as well as whether a virtual avatar could be applied to acquiring patients' behavior characteristics in a short conversation situation. The virtual avatar has been used for various applications which need to communicate with other person or to train or educate by showing humanlike behavior. Recently, many researches have shown that the virtual avatar technology has been enhanced and the avatar could be perceived like real human. A virtual avatar, standing in a virtual room, was designed for this study. Tasks to approach, initiate a talk, and answer to avatar's questions was assigned to the 11 patients with schizophrenia. As behavioral parameters in the virtual environment, the interpersonal distance and the verbal response time were acquired. In addition, the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) for patients was administered in order to investigate the relationship between patients' symptomatic characteristics and behavior parameters. The interpersonal distance was negatively correlated with the negative syndrome scale, a subscale of PANSS, which is consistent with previous research reporting the relationship between interpersonal distance and a real person's image. The verbal response time, however, was not correlated with any other subscale of PANSS. After analyzing subitems of the negative syndrome of PANSS, two positive correlations were found: one was with blunted affect and the other was with poor rapport. We concluded that the virtual avatar could be perceived as a real human by schizophrenic patients and the avatar could draw the schizophrenic patients' behavior characteristics.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

A proton MRSI study of brain N-acetylaspartate level after 12 weeks of citalopram treatment in drug-naive patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

OBJECTIVE: Reductions in the level of N-acetylaspartate within subcortical structures of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have been reported in several studies. However, there have been, as yet, no reports regarding N-acetylaspartate levels in the prefrontal cortex of adult drug-naive OCD patients. The authors used proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging ((1)H-MRSI) to investigate regional N-acetylaspartate level abnormalities and changes after 12 weeks of pharmacotherapy with citalopram in drug-naive OCD patients. METHOD: Thirteen drug-naive OCD patients and 13 age- and sex-matched healthy comparison subjects were included in this study. N-acetylaspartate levels (obtained from ratios of N-acetylaspartate with creatine, choline, and creatine plus choline) in the prefrontal cortex, parietal cortex, anterior cingulate, posterior cingulate, frontal white matter, and parietal white matter were measured by (1)H-MRSI. In OCD patients, measurements were taken before and after 12 weeks of citalopram treatment. Correlations between N-acetylaspartate concentrations in regions of interest and clinical measures were also assessed. RESULTS: Drug-naive OCD patients exhibited significantly lower N-acetylaspartate levels in the prefrontal cortex, frontal white matter, and anterior cingulate at baseline than did comparison subjects. Significant increases in N-acetylaspartate level were detected in the prefrontal cortex and frontal white matter in OCD patients after 12 weeks of citalopram treatment. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that reductions in neuronal viability occur in the frontal region of OCD patients and that these reductions may be partly reversible.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Pyrethroid insecticides, fenvalerate and permethrin, inhibit progesterone-induced alkaline phosphatase activity in T47D human breast cancer cells.

Pyrethroid insecticides exhibited a weak estrogenic activity by stimulation of MCF-7 cell proliferation and induction of alkaline phosphatase (AlkP) enzyme activity in cultured Ishikawa cells. Previously it was reported that fenvalerate and permethrin significantly inhibited the 17beta-estradiol-induced MCF-7 BUS cell proliferation. Although certain pyrethroid insecticides exert estrogenic or antiestrogenic activities, it is not clear whether pyrethroid insecticides act as progesterone agonists or antagonists. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of fenvalerate and permethrin on AlkP activity as a progesterone-specific response in T47D cells. In the present study, the stimulation of AlkP activity was concentration dependent with addition of progesterone, and maximum activity was observed at concentration of 1 x 10(-8) M. Both fenvalerate (1 x 10(-6) M) and permethrin (1 x 10(-6) M) did not stimulate the AlkP activity, but progesterone (1 x 10(-8) M)-induced AlkP activity was significantly inhibited at 1 x 10(-6) M concentration of fenvalerate and permethrin, respectively. Progesterone receptor (PR) levels in cytosolic protein of T47D cells were studied to determine the relationship between cellular PR expression and AlkP activity. Similar to AlkP activity, progesterone (1 x 10(-8) M) significantly increased PR protein levels compared to control. However, PR protein levels were not affected in T47D cells cultured with fenvalerate and permethrin alone, whereas fenvalerate and permethrin significantly decreased progesterone-induced PR protein levels. Our data indicate that fenvalerate and permethrin exhibit antiprogestagenic activity in T47D human breast cancer cells.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗

PubMed2005

Validation study of OECD rodent uterotrophic assay for the assessment of estrogenic activity in Sprague-Dawley immature female rats.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is developing a screening and testing method to identify estrogenic/antiestrogenic compounds. Based on these demands, phase 1 study for OECD uterotrophic assay was undertaken. The OECD is in the process of validating the assay results from international participating laboratories, which carried out this study with established environmental estrogenic compounds using designed protocols. The aim of this study was to provide data for validating the OECD uterotrophic assay using Sprague-Dawley immature female rats when testing with weak or partial estrogenic compounds. Ethinyl estradiol (EE) at 0.3 or 1 microg/kg/d, a positive control used in the present study, significantly increased both uterine wet and blotted weights. In the case of weak estrogenic compounds, the uterine wet weights were significantly increased by bisphenol A (BPA) at 300 mg/kg/d, nonylphenol (NP) at 80 mg/kg/d, genistein (GN) at 35 mg/kg/d, and methoxychlor (MXC) at 500 mg/kg/d. In addition, the increase in uterine blotted weights also showed a similar pattern to that of uterine wet weights. However, both 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorphenyl)ethane (o,p-DDT) and dibutyl phthalate (DBP) did not affect uterus (wet and blotted) weights at doses of 100 and 500 mg/kg/d. These results suggest that the increase in uterine weights should be considered useful as a sensitive endpoint for detecting weak estrogenic compounds in 3-d rodent uterotrophic assay. However, further combination studies using surrogate biomarkers may be needed to improve the sensitivity of this assay for the detection of weak estrogenic compounds, such as o,p-DDT.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Representative brain selection using a group-specific tissue probability map.

PURPOSE: To determine the anatomy of a standard brain reflecting well-defined group characteristics based on probabilistic information from group-specific anatomical variations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We constructed a group-specific tissue probabilistic map for 20 subjects and used it to extract voxel-wise probabilistic information for each subject through regional spatial normalization using Automated Image Registration software (AIR 5.2.5). Extracted probabilistic information was then used to determine standard properties of the subjects. For comparison, we employed an empirical scoring function - a measure of entropy - in ordering the data set. A brain with minimum entropy was then selected for a group standard. The evaluation of our proposed method was performed using two different selection schemes: deformation analysis and similarity index measurements. RESULTS: This method showed highly correlated result with previous method by Kochunov et al., with fewer computational tasks. CONCLUSION: This method can thus be used to determine an appropriate standard model to compare with disease-affected brains.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Sex differences in the human corpus callosum: diffusion tensor imaging study.

In order to assess underlying structural differences between the male and female corpus callosum, the fractional anisotropy and volume of the corpus callosum, and also its T1 signal intensity, were measured. The corpus callosum of the 15 normal women and 15 normal men was drawn on the mid-sagittal T1-weighted image, for determining its volume and signal intensity, and this region of interest was projected onto the coregistered fractional anisotropy image, in order to obtain the value for the corpus callosum. We found increased T1 signal intensity and decreased fractional anisotropy in the female corpus callosum, as compared with that of the male. Despite the long-standing debates, the corpus callosum remains a region of sex differences.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Quantitative analysis of group-specific brain tissue probability map for schizophrenic patients.

We developed group-specific tissue probability map (TPM) for gray matter (GM), white matter (WM) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) on the common spatial coordinates of an averaged brain atlas derived from normal controls (NC) and from schizophrenic patients (SZ). To identify differences in group-specific TPMs, we used quantitative evaluation methods based on differences in probabilistic distribution as a global criterion, and the mean probability and the similarity index (SI) by lobe as regional criteria. The SZ group showed more spatial variation with a lower mean probability than NC subjects. And, for the right temporal and left parietal lobes, the SI between each group was lower than the other lobes. It can be said that there were significant differences in spatial distribution between controls and schizophrenic patients at those areas. In case of female group, although group differences in the volumes of GM and WM were not significant, global difference in the probabilistic distribution of GM was more prominent and the SI was lower and its descent rate was greater in all lobes, compared with the male group. If these morphological differences caused by disease or group-specific features were not considered in TPM, the accuracy and certainty of specific group studies would be greatly reduced. Therefore, suitable TPM is required as a common framework for functional neuroimaging studies and an a priori knowledge of tissue classification.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Asymmetry analysis of deformable hippocampal model using the principal component in schizophrenia.

The hippocampus is thought to play an important role in learning and memory processing, and impairments in memory, attention, and decision making are found commonly in schizophrenia. Although many studies have reported decreases in hippocampal volume in the left hemisphere in schizophrenia, regionally specific hippocampal volume loss has not been revealed consistently using volume analysis. Recently, many studies have analyzed shape asymmetry using 3-D models; however, inconsistent results have been reported, mainly due to methodologic differences. We therefore used an active, flexible, deformable shape model for surface parameterization, and compared shape asymmetry based on principal component analysis (PCA) in the hippocampi of schizophrenic patients with those of the normal controls. Although the overall pattern of the statistical results did not change according to the number of principal components, the reconstructed results based on six major components were much more distinguishable. Although the left hemispheric hippocampal volume was larger than the right hemispheric was in this study, the difference was not significant. In shape asymmetry analysis, the right hemisphere hippocampus was bilaterally larger than the left hemisphere hippocampus was in the head of the superior CA1 and smaller in the tail and head of the inferior CA1. The asymmetry in the schizophrenia group was statistically smaller than that in the control group through reduction of the left hemisphere hippocampus volume.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Gray matter abnormalities in paranoid schizophrenia and their clinical correlations.

Numerous imaging studies have shown structural brain abnormalities in schizophrenia. Recently, voxel-based morphometry enabled whole brain analysis beyond the regions of interest (ROI). Regional gray matter concentrations of magnetic resonance (MR) images from 35 patients with paranoid schizophrenia were compared with those from 35 age- and sex-matched controls, and their clinical correlations were explored using voxel-based morphometry. Gray matter concentrations in the patients were significantly reduced in the left insular and dorsolateral prefrontal regions, and bilaterally in the medial frontal, anterior cingulate, inferior frontal and superior temporal regions. On the other hand, gray matter concentrations in the bilateral cerebellum and right striatum were significantly increased in the patients compared with controls. A negative correlation between the score for the severity of 'lack of insight and judgment' and gray matter concentrations in the left posterior and right anterior cingulate and bilateral inferior temporal regions including the lateral fusiform gyri was found. These results suggest the important roles of the paralimbic structures in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and the involvement of the perceptual and monitoring systems in the mechanism of insight.

Adult↗