Understanding Depression

Yong-Ku Kim, MD, PhD is a Professor of Psychiatry at College of Medicine, Korea University. He received a MD degree from College of Medicine, Korea University in 1987 and a PHD in psychiatry from Korea University in 1998. Dr. Kim has been affiliated with Korea University since 1998, first as an assistant professor (1998-2000), then as associated professor (2001-2005), professor (2006- present). For the past 20 years, his professional activities have extended beyond the area of pure clinical or research work. Dr. Kim has well over 200 publications in peer-reviewed international journals, including Biological Psychiatry, Molecular Psychiatry, Clinical Journal of Psychiatry, and Progress in Neuropsychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry and 30 publications of book chapters and have made over 90 academic presentations in my area of interest. Dr. Kim is a fellow of Collogicum Internationale Neuropsychopharmacologicum, International Society for Affective Disorders, World Federation of the Society of biological Psychiatry. He currently sits on the editorial boards of some leading academic journals in the field of neurobiology, including Progress in Neuropsychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry, Psychiatry Investigation, World Journal Psychiatry, Annals of Depression and Anxiety, Psychiatry Journal and so on. Dr. Kim received prestigious awards such as Astrageneca Award and Dr. Paul Janssen Schizophrenia Research Award. Dr. Kim is currently the president of Korean society of Biological Psychiatry (2016-present).

• 1.Diagnostic issues of depression.- 1-1.Major depression and bipolar depression: similarity, difference and contemporary treatment approach.- 1-2.Biomarkers of depression-potential diagnostic tools.- 1-3.Diagnosis of depression: from clinical classification to biological classification.- 1-4.Application of neuroimaging in the diagnosis and treatment in depression.- 2.Clinical manifestations of depression.- 2-1.Anhedonia as a crucial factor of depression; assessment, neurobiological underpinning and treatment.- 2-2.Sleep and sleep disorders in depression.- 2-3.Chronobiology and treatment in depression.- 2-4.Suicide in depression: risk factors, neurobiology and treatment.- 2-5.Cognitive dimension of depression; assessment, neurobiology and treatment.- 2-6.Risk factors and prevention strategy of depression in childhood and adolescence.- 2-7.Neurobiology and risk factors in late life depression.- 3.Complicated clinical manifestations of depression.- 3-1.Overlapping chronic pain and depression: pathophysiology and management.- 3-2.Clinical, biological and therapeutic characteristics between depression with and without medical illness.- 3-3.Biological mechanism underlying the link Depression and cardiovascular disease.- 3-4.Bunout syndrome and depression.- 3-5.The link between obesity and depression: exploring shared mechanisms.- 3-6.Biomarkers, detection and therapeutic approaches for antenatal and postnatal depression.- 4.Therapeutic issues of depression.- 4-1.Ketamine: a promising rapid-acting antidepressant in depression.- 4-2.Antidepressant therapy for depression: An update.- 4-3.The use of atypical antipsychotics in treatment of depression: efficacy and safety.- 4-4.Neurobiology and therapeutic approach in treatment-resistant depression (TRD).- 4-5.Clinical application of neurostimulation in depression.- 4-6.Combination therapy of pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy in depression: Is it really superior to either treatment alone?.- 4-7.Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression: preference to internet-based mental health and psychotherapy approaches in mood disorders.- 4-8.Current research on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in the treatments of depression: evidence based review.