| The scientific understanding of Korean medicine theory remains largely unknown, since there is a lack of proper methods to investigate its complex and unique characteristics. Here, we introduce a drug-centered approach, a novel method to investigate Korean medicine theory by analyzing the mechanisms of herbal medicines. This method can be effectively conducted by employing network pharmacology that can analyze the systems-level mechanisms of herbal medicines on a large scale. Firstly, we introduce the method of network pharmacology that are applied to analyze the mechanisms of herbal medicines in a step-by-step manner. Then, we show how the drug-centered approach employing network pharmacology can be applied to investigate Korean medicine theory by describing studies that identify the biological correlates of the cold-hot nature of herbs, spleen qi deficiency syndrome, or Sasang constitution. Finally, we discuss the limitations and future directions of the proposed approach in two aspects: The methods of network pharmacology for a drug-centered approach and the process of inferring Korean medicine theory through it. We believe that a drug-centered approach employing network pharmacology will provide an advanced scientific understanding of Korean medicine theory and contribute to its development by generating biologically plausible hypothesis. |
| Artificial intelligence technology sheds light on new ways of innovating acupuncture research. As acupoint selection is specific to target diseases, each acupoint is generally believed to have a specific indication. However, the specificity of acupoint selection may be not always same with the specificity of acupoint indication. In this review, we propose that the specificity of acupoint indication can be inferred from clinical data using reverse inference. Using forward inference, the prescribed acupoints for each disease can be quantified for the specificity of acupoint selection. Using reverse inference, targeted diseases for each acupoint can be quantified for the specificity of acupoint indication. It is noteworthy that the selection of an acupoint for a particular disease does not imply the acupoint has specific indications for that disease. Electronic medical record includes various symptoms and chosen acupoint combinations. Data mining approach can be useful to reveal the complex relationships between diseases and acupoints from clinical data. Combining the clinical information and the bodily sensation map, the spatial patterns of acupoint indication can be further estimated. Interoperable medical data should be collected for medical knowledge discovery and clinical decision support system. In the era of artificial intelligence, machine learning can reveal the associations between diseases and prescribed acupoints from large scale clinical data warehouse. |
| This paper examines whether the conceptual metaphor theory, which has been recently treated as important research topic in the field of cognitive linguistics, can be a new method that can promote the modernization of basic Korean medicine (KM) theory. In addition, the significance and potential of this study are reviewed by looking at Chinese research cases that applied this theory to Traditional Chinese Medicine theories and terminologies. The results are summarized as follows. From the viewpoint of metaphoric cognition, KM is a medicine that attempts to understand the human body (microcosm) through nature (great universe) by metaphorically projecting human experiences of nature on the human body based on the thought of correspondence between nature and human (天人相應). The language system of KM is based on a metaphor that extends our experience of nature to the human body, and an abundance of metaphors can be seen throughout the language of KM. Understanding and interpreting KM theories and terminologies from a metaphorical point of view allow us to understand the nature of KM theoretical key terms more deeply than now. And this understanding can help define and describe KM theoretical key terms and promote the modernization of KM theory research. In addition, various image schema that plays an important role in the metaphorical expansion of physical experience can be used for modeling KM theory. Research of KM theories and terminologies from a metaphorical point of view can serve as a bridge between traditional KM theory and modernization research, opening a new path to the modernization of basic KM theory in difficult situations. |
| Traditional Korean medicine (TKM) takes a holistic view that emphasizes the balance between the elements constituting the human body or between the human body and the external environment. To investigate the holistic properties of TKM, here we propose to apply the methodology of complexity science to the TKM research. Complexity science is a discipline for studying complex systems with interactions between components that raise the behaviour as a whole which can be more than the sum of their parts. We first provide an introduction to the complexity science and its research methods, particularly focusing on network science and data science approaches. Next, we briefly present the current status of TKM research employing these methods. Finally, we provide suggestions for future research elucidating the underlying mechanism of TKM, both in terms of biomedicine and humanities. |
