title: Pathophysiological Role of Neuroinflammation in Neurodegenerative Diseases and Psychiatric Disorders.
abstract: Brain diseases and disorders such as Alzheimer disease, Parkinson disease, depression, schizophrenia, autism, and addiction lead to reduced quality of daily life through abnormal thoughts, perceptions, emotional states, and behavior. While the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood, human and animal studies have supported a role of neuroinflammation in the etiology of these diseases. In the central nervous system, an increased inflammatory response is capable of activating microglial cells, leading to the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines including interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α. In turn, the pro-inflammatory cytokines aggravate and propagate neuroinflammation, degenerating healthy neurons and impairing brain functions. Therefore, activated microglia may play a key role in neuroinflammatory processes contributing to the pathogenesis of psychiatric disorders and neurodegeneration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Science, Konkuk University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Heeok
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-6533-6064
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.affiliation: Convergence Research Center for Diagnosis, Treatment and Care System of Dementia, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Seoul, Korea.|Department of Neuroscience, Korea University of Science and Technology (UST), Daejeon, Korea.
authors.forename: Byung Sun
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-9883-9063
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Convergence Research Center for Diagnosis, Treatment and Care System of Dementia, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Seoul, Korea.|Department of Neuroscience, Korea University of Science and Technology (UST), Daejeon, Korea.
authors.forename: Heh-In
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-4763-5009
authors.initials: HI
authors.lastname: Im
keywords: Brain Diseases; Cytokines; Inflammation; Microglia