- 저자Min-Kyu Sung, Na Hyun Ha, Ul Soon Lee, Hyun-Jeong Yang
- 저널명Nursing Open
- 초록Aim: We aimed to reveal the relationship of meditation with emotional intelligence (EI), sleep quality and melatonin level. Design: A cross-sectional study. Methods: Our current research was performed on middle-aged women. EI scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and night-time saliva melatonin were measured for 65 participants including 33 meditators and 32 controls. Results: The meditation group showed a significantly higher EI score than the control group. In the regression analysis between EI and age, only the meditation group showed a significant positive correlation. The Pearson correlation analysis among all participants revealed a significant negative correlation between PSQI and EI. There was no significant group difference in the melatonin and PSQI.
- 저자Min-Kyu Sung , Ul Soon Lee, Na Hyun Ha, Eugene Koh, Hyun-Jeong Yang
- 저널명Medicine
- 초록
Owing to hormonal changes, women experience various psychophysiological alterations over a wide age range, which may result in decreased quality of life as well as in increased risks of diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases. Although studies have been performed to research complementary methods, such as meditation, the research field still requires an adequate amount of studies for public health guidelines. This pilot cross-sectional study aims to investigate a potential association of meditation with menopausal symptoms and blood chemistry for healthy women. In this study, data of 65 healthy women (age range 25–67) including 33 meditation practitioners and 32 meditation-naïve controls were analyzed to compare the Menopausal Rating Scale scores and blood chemistry with 7 more dropouts in the blood chemistry. For blood chemistry, nine components including glucose (GLU) and highdensity lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) were measured. Two-way analysis of variance was performed by dividing the total participants into 2 groups: premenopausal and postmenopausal participants. Compared to the control group, the meditation group showed a trend of reductions in the Menopausal Rating Scale total score (P=.054) and its 2 subcomponents: depressive mood (P=.064) and irritability (P=.061). In HDL level, there was a significant interaction between group and menopausal state (P=.039) with following post hoc results: among the premenopausal participants, a significant increase in the meditation group compared to the control group (P=.005); among the control group, a significant increase in the postmenopausal compared to the premenopausal participants (P=.030). In GLU level, there was a mild interaction between group and menopausal state (P=.070) with following post hoc results: among the postmenopausal participants, a trend of increase in the control group compared to the meditation group (P=.081); among the control group, a significant increase in the postmenopausal compared to the premenopausal participants (P=.040). Our research suggests a potential association of practicing meditation with alleviations in menopausal symptoms and changes in blood chemistry, warranting further studies with a longitudinal study design and larger populations to understand the underlying causal relationships.
- 저자Hojung Kang, Seung Chan An, Nah Ok Kim, Minkyu Sung, Yunjung Kang, Ul Soon Lee and Hyun-Jeong Yang
- 저널명Frontiers in Psychology
- 초록Numerous studies have revealed that meditative movement changes brain activity and improves the cognitive function of adults. However, there is still insufficient data on whether meditative movement contributes to the cognitive function of adolescents whose brain is still under development. Therefore, this study aimed to uncover the effects of meditative movement on the cognitive performance and its relation with brain activity in adolescents. Forty healthy adolescent participants (mean age of 17∼18) were randomly allocated into two groups: meditative movement and control group. The meditative movement group was instructed to perform the meditative movement, twice a day for 9 min each, for a duration of 3 weeks. During the same time of the day, the control group was instructed to rest under the same condition. To measure changes in cognitive abilities, a dual n-back task was performed before and after the intervention and analyzed by repeated two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). During the task, electroencephalogram signals were collected to find the relation of brain activity with working memory performance and was analyzed by regression analysis. A repeated two-way ANOVA with Bonferroni correction showed that working memory performance was significantly increased by meditative movement compared with the retest effect. Based on regression analysis, the amplitude of high-beta rhythm in the F3 channel showed a significant correlation with dual n-back score in the experimental group after the intervention, while there was no correlation in the control group. Our results suggest that meditative movement improves the performance of working memory, which is related to brain activity in adolescents.
- 저자Mohammad Al Mijan, Ji Young Kim, So-Young Moon, Sun-Hye Choi, Seung-Yeol Nah, Hyun-Jeong Yang
- 저널명Frontiers in Pharmacology
- 초록
Although evidence on myelin diseases is steadily accumulating, effective preventive or therapeutic strategies against them have not been established so far. Ginseng is well known for its beneficial effects on health and diseases; however, detailed studies on ginseng’s effects on myelin-producing oligodendrocytes have not been performed yet. In this study, we investigated the function of gintonin—an active component of ginseng—on the proliferation, differentiation, and survival of oligodendrocyte lineage cells. We performed real-time percutaneous coronary intervention, Western blot, and immunocytochemistry on primary oligodendrocyte precursor cell cultures and in vitro myelinating co-cultures. Our results show that gintonin stimulates oligodendrocyte precursor cell proliferation. Gintonin’s effect was inhibited by Ki16425, an antagonist of lysophosphatidic acid 1/3 receptors. Interestingly, with regard to cell differentiation, gintonin facilitated late differentiation of oligodendrocyte development, but not early differentiation. Moreover, it showed protective effects on oligodendrocyte lineage cells against endoplasmic reticulum stress-induced cell death, potentially by modulating unfolded protein responses. Our results suggest that gintonin is a potential therapeutic candidate in the treatment of myelin diseases.
- 저자Ji-Young Kim , Ju-Young Yoon , Yuki Sugiura , Soo-Kyoung Lee , Jae-Don Park , Gyun-Jee Song and Hyun-Jeong Yang
- 저널명Royal Society Open Science, 6(6), p.190266.
- 초록
Treatment of multiple sclerosis is effective when anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective and regenerative strategies are combined. Dendropanax morbiferus (DM) has anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative properties, which may be beneficial for multiple sclerosis. However, there have been no reports on the effects of DM on myelination, which is critical for regenerative processes. To know whether DM benefits myelination, we checked differentiation and myelination of oligodendrocytes (OLs) in various primary culture systems treated with DM leaf EtOH extracts or control. DM extracts increased the OL membrane size in the mixed glial and pure OL precursor cell (OPC) cultures and changed OL-lineage gene expression patterns in the OPC cultures. Western blot analysis of DM-treated OPC cultures showed upregulation of MBP and phosphorylation of ERK1/2. In myelinating cocultures, DM extracts enhanced OL differentiation, followed by increased axonal contacts and myelin gene upregulations such as Myrf, CNP and PLP. Phytochemical analysis by LC-MS/MS identified multiple components from DM extracts, containing bioactive molecules such as quercetin, cannabidiol, etc. Our results suggest DM extracts enhance OL differentiation, followed by an increase in membrane size and axonal contacts, thereby indicating enhanced myelination. In addition, we found that DMextracts contain multiple bioactive components, warranting further studies in relation to finding effective components for enhancing myelination.
- 저자Seung-Ho Lee, Sun-Mi Hwang, Do-Hyung Kang, Hyun-Jeong Yang
- 저널명Medicine. 98(19):e15574, May 2019.
- 초록
Background: Hypertension and type 2 diabetes are chronic diseases, which generally require lifetime care. Meditation and yoga can be complementary to pharmacological therapies according to the scientific evidences so far. Brain education-based meditation (BEM) is a technique, which has been known to change brain structure, psychology, and physiology of healthy adult participants. This randomized, nonblinded pilot trial aimed to examine whether BEM affects the conditions of patients with hypertension and/or type 2 diabetes compared with health education classes.
Methods: We randomly allocated 48 patients with hypertension and/or type 2 diabetes to BEM (n=24) or health education (n=24) classes in the Ulsan Junggu Public Health Center in Korea, where the classes were run during the same period and explored the impact of 8-week practice on the serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase, serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase, gamma glutamyl transpeptidase, creatinine, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. Total RNA was extracted to examine inflammatory gene expressions from the whole blood using PAXgene blood RNA System. In addition, self-reports on mental/physical health were evaluated. The Student’s t test, chi-squared test, and analysis of covariance were used for statistical analysis.
Results: The number of people who participated until the completion of the study was 14 in the control and 21 in the BEM group. After 8 weeks, LDL cholesterol level was significantly decreased in the BEM group after the intervention (13.82mg/dL reduction, P<.05), while it was not significantly altered in the control group. The expression of inflammatory genes was significantly reduced after 8 weeks of the BEM training (0.3-, 0.5-, and 0.2-fold change for NFKB2, RELA, and IL1B, respectively, all P<.05). In the item analysis of mental/physical health self-reports, a significant improvement was confirmed as follows: increases in focus, confidence, relaxation, and happiness; decreases in fatigue, anger, and loneliness (all P<.05). There were no important adverse events or side effects by BEM intervention.
Conclusion: Compared to health education, BEM helps lower LDL cholesterol level and the inflammatory gene expression in the patients with hypertension and/or type 2 diabetes. Moreover, BEM induces positive effects on the self-reported mental/physical states, warranting further study.
- 저자J.H.Jang, J.H.Kim, J.Y.Yun, S.H.Choi, S.C.An, D.H.Kang
- 저널명Mindfulness (2018)s12671-018-0928-x
- 초록The majority of meditation involves focusing attention on internal events or sensations and becoming aware of emotions. The insula cortex, through a functional connection with the prefrontal cortex and other brain regions, plays a key role in integrating external sensory information with internal bodily state signals and emotional awareness. The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the resting-state functional connectivity of the insula with other brain regions in meditation practitioners and control subjects. Thirty-five BrainWave Vibration meditation practitioners and 33 controls without meditation experience were included in this study. All subjects underwent 4.68-min resting-state functional scanning runs using magnetic resonance imaging. The anterior and posterior insulae were chosen as seed regions for the functional connectivity map. Meditation practitioners showed significantly greater insula-related functional connectivity in the thalamus, caudate, middle frontal gyrus, and superior temporal gyrus than did controls. Control subjects demonstrated greater functional connectivity with the posterior insula in the parahippocampal gyrus. Our findings suggest that the practice of Brain Wave Vibration meditation may be associated with functional differences in regions related to focused attention, executive control, and emotional awareness and regulation.
- 저자S.H.Choi, S.C.An, U.S.Lee, J.Y.Yun, J.H.Jang, D.H.Kang
- 저널명Clinical Psychopharmacology and Neuroscience 2018;16(4):391-397
- 초록Objective: Meditation can elicit trait-like changes in psychological and social styles, as well as enhancement of emotional regulatory capacity. We investigated the relation between personality traits and emotional intelligence in meditation practitioners. Methods: Seventy-two long-term practitioners of mind-body training (MBT) and 62 healthy comparative individuals participated in the study. The participants completed emotional intelligence questionnaires and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Results: The MBT group revealed higher scores on all five emotional intelligence factors than did those in the control group, such as emotional awareness and expression, empathy, emotional thinking, emotional application, and emotional regulation (all p≤0.001). MBT practitioners also had higher scores on the intuition of perceiving function (t =-2.635, p =0.010) and on the feeling of the judging function (t =-3.340, p =0.001) of the MBTI compared with those in the control group. Only the MBT group showed a robust relationship with every factor of emotional intelligence and MBTI-defined intuitive styles, indicating that higher scores of emotional intelligence were related to higher scores for intuition. Conclusion: Emotional intelligence of meditation practitioners showed notable relationships with some features of personality trait. In-depth associations between emotional intelligence and personality traits would help to foster psychological functions in meditation practitioners.
- 저자오주원, 신재한, 강윤정, 연주헌
- 저널명Asia-pacific Journal of Multimedia Services Convergent with Art, Humanities, and Sociology
- 초록본 연구는 중년 직장 여성의 스트레스와 우울을 감소시키기 위한 뇌교육 기반 기공프로그램을 개발하고 프로그램의 효과를 검증하는 것을 목적으로 한다. 종속변수를 측정하기 위한 도구로 스트레스의 정도를 측정하는 질문지 척도와 우울의 정도를 측정하는 질문지 척도를 사용하였으며, 이들의 생화학적 변화를 확인하고자 혈액을 분석하였다. 연구대상은 전남의 oo대학교 영양팀 40~60대 여성 40명 (20명 실험집단, 20명 통제집단)을 대상으로 하였다. 실험집단과 통제집단 모두 사전과 사후에 스트레스 척도와 우울척도 설문을 실시하고 혈액을 채취하였다. 실험집단은 주 2회(50분) 12주간 뇌교육기반 기공 프로그램을 실시하였으며, 통제집단은 하지 않았다. 자료 분석은 독립표본 t검증, 대응표본 t검증 및 two-way ANOVA분석이 사용되었다. 연구결과는 뇌교육 기반 기공 프로그램이 중년 직장여성의 우울의 정도를 감소시키는 것으로 나타났으며, 스트레스 정도에서는 유의미한 감소가 나타나지 않았다. 혈액 분석 결과, Insulin, Total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol에서 통제집단에 비하여 실험집단에서 감소율이 더 높게 나타났지만 통계적으로 유의한 차이가 나타나지 않았다. 이러한 결과는 뇌교육 기반 기공 프로그램이 중년여성의 우울정도를 감소시키는 데 영향을 미치는 것이라 할 수 있겠으나 생물학적인 지표의 확인은 앞으로의 연구에서 밝혀져야 할 것이다.
- 저자심준영, 유성모, 신재한, 강윤정, 연주헌
- 저널명Korean Journal of Gerontological Social Welfare vol. 73(1), pp. 163-186
- 초록본 연구는 국학기공 수련이 여성노인의 심박변이도(HRV)와 혈중 세로토닌 농도에 미치는 영향을 알아보는데 있다. 이를 위하여 여성노인 40명을 대상으로 실험집단 20명과 대조집단 20명으로 구분하고 실험집단에 대해 10주간, 주 2회, 회당 60분씩 국학기공 프로그램을 실시하였다. 분석결과, 심박변이도는 SDNN Index, RMSSD, pNN50에서 실험집단의 평균값이 대조집단에 비해 유의하게 높게 나타났으며, 우울의 지표가 되는 세로토닌 농도에서도 실험집단의 평균값이 유의하게 더 많은 증가를 보였다. 이러한 결과는 국학기공 수련이 여성노인의 스트레스에 대한 생리적 회복탄력성을 높이고, 우울감을 해소하여 생리적 건강상태를 개선하는데 도움을 줄 수 있음을 시사한다.
- 저자신재한, 강호중, 안승찬
- 저널명한국산학기술학회논문지(Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society) Vol. 18, No. 2 pp. 374-382, 2017
- 초록본 연구에서는 고등학생을 대상으로 배꼽힐링 프로그램을 개발하고 적용한 후, 뇌파 검사를 통해 뇌파 활성도를 측정함으로써 그에 따른 효과성을 검증하는데 그 연구의 목적이 있다. 본 연구에 A고등학생 19명(남학생 8명, 여학생 11명)이 참여 하였으며 실험에 참여한 학생들은 2주 동안 매일 2회씩(아침, 저녁) 5분간 배꼽힐링 프로그램을 실시하였다. 효과검증을 위해 피험자의 각성상태 및 안정상태에서의 뇌파를 측정하였으며 스트루프 과제중의 뇌파의 변화를 관찰하였다. 이후 배꼽힐링을 약 5분간 실시하고 1분간의 휴식을 취한 후 동일한 과정을 반복하였다. 연구 결과, 배꼽힐링 프로그램을 통해 스트루프 과제 중 각성상태 대비 M-Beta파, H-Beta파, 그리고 Gamma파의 감소량이 줄어들었으며 안정상태 대비 Alpha파, SMR파의 감소량이 감소하는 것으로 나타났다. 이는 배꼽힐링을 통해 피험자들이 스트레스 상황에서의 집중력, 몰입력 등이 향상되었으며 심리적 안정상태도 유지한다는 것을 시사한다. 이는 학생들의 연구 후 인터뷰 내용과도 일치 한다. 따라서, 본 연구의 결론을 제시하면 다음과 같다. 첫째, 배꼽힐링 프로그램은 고등학생의 스트레스 해소에 효과가 있기 때문에, 학업 스트레스를 많이 받는 수험생을 대상으로 배꼽힐링 프로그램을 실시할 필요가 있다. 둘째, 배꼽힐링 프로그램은 고등학생의 집중력과 몰입력을 증가시키는 효과가 있기 때문에, 복잡하거나 어려운 특정 과제를 해결하기 전에 배꼽힐링 프로그램을 실시할 필요가 있다.
- 저자D.H.Kang, H.J.Jo, W.H.Jung, S.H.Kim, Y.H.Jung, C.H.Choi,
- 저널명Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience 8, 27-33
- 초록
A convergent line of neuroscientific evidence suggests that meditation alters the functional and structural plasticity of distributed neural processes underlying attention and emotion. The purpose of this study was to examine the brain structural differences between a well-matched sample of longterm meditators and controls. We employed whole-brain cortical thickness analysis, based on magnetic resonance imaging, and diffusion tensor imaging to quantify white matter integrity in the brains of 46 experienced meditators compared with 46 matched meditation-naïve volunteers. Meditators, compared with controls, showed significantly greater cortical thickness in the anterior regions of the brain, located in frontal and temporal areas, including the medial prefrontal cortex, superior frontal cortex, temporal pole, and the middle and interior temporal cortices. Significantly thinner cortical thickness was found in the posterior regions of the brain, located in the parietal and occipital areas, including the postcentral cortex, inferior parietal cortex, middle occipital cortex, and posterior cingulate cortex. Moreover, in the region adjacent to the medial prefrontal cortex, both higher fractional anisotropy values and greater cortical thickness were observed. Our findings suggest that long-term meditators have structural differences in both gray and white matter.