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Yoon, In-Young

Seoul National University · Medicine

About the Lab

Professor Yoon In-Young's research lab focuses on the intersection of sleep medicine, aging, and mental health, with a particular emphasis on identifying and understanding sleep disorders—such as REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) and restless legs syndrome (RLS)—in the elderly. The lab investigates the neurobiological, circadian, and microbial underpinnings of sleep disturbances and their links to cognitive decline, mood disorders, and systemic health markers. Using multimodal approaches including polysomnography, actigraphy, and microbiome analysis, the lab explores both clinical phenotypes and potential probiotic interventions to improve sleep and mental well-being in aging populations.

sleep disordersaginggut microbiomecircadian rhythmcognitive decline

Research Overview

Papers
205
Total Citations
4,270
Papers (5y)
60
Primary Field
Medicine

Research Output Trend

Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.

Publications per year (5y)
60total
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
Citations per year (5y)
629total
20212022202320242025

Selected Papers

15
1
Article|245 citations·2013
REM Sleep Behavior Disorder in the Korean Elderly Population: Prevalence and Clinical Characteristics
Suk-Hoon Kang, In‐Young Yoon, Sang Don Lee, Ji Won Han, Tae Hui Kim, Ki Woong Kim
SJR Q1SLEEPOA

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To examine the prevalence and clinical characteristics of REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) and subclinical RBD in the Korean elderly population. DESIGN: A community-based Korean Longitudinal Study on Cognitive Aging and Dementia and time-synchronized video-polysomnography (vPSG) in a laboratory. SETTING: Sleep laboratory in a university hospital. PARTICIPANTS: 348 individuals aged 60 years or older. INTERVENTION: N/A. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Among 696 subjects who were invit

NeurologyMedicine
2
Article|190 citations·2003
Age‐Related Changes of Circadian Rhythms and Sleep‐Wake Cycles
In‐Young Yoon, Daniel F. Kripke, Jeffrey A. Elliott, Shawn D. Youngstedt, Katharine M. Rex, Richard L. Hauger
SJR Q1Journal of the American Geriatrics Society

OBJECTIVES: To compare relationships between the sleep-wake cycle and endogenous circadian rhythms in young and older adults and to examine correlates between evening naps and circadian rhythms in older adults. DESIGN: For 1 week of home recording, subjects wore wrist-activity monitors and kept daily sleep logs. After the home monitoring, subjects entered the laboratory on a 90-minute sleep-wake schedule and were monitored on this schedule for at least 30 hours. SETTING: Community living and lab

Experimental and Cognitive PsychologyPsychology
3
Article|150 citations·2021
Effects of Probiotic NVP-1704 on Mental Health and Sleep in Healthy Adults: An 8-Week Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial
Hyuk Joo Lee, Jung Kyung Hong, Jeon-Kyung Kim, Dong‐Hyun Kim, Seok Won Jang, Seung-Won Han, In‐Young Yoon
SJR Q1NutrientsOA

The human gut microbiome is closely linked to mental health and sleep. We aimed to verify the efficacy and safety of probiotic NVP-1704, a mixture of Lactobacillus reuteri NK33 and Bifidobacterium adolescentis NK98, in improving stress, depression, anxiety, and sleep disturbances, along with the measurement of some blood biomarkers. A total of 156 healthy adults with subclinical symptoms of depression, anxiety, and insomnia were retrospectively registered and randomly assigned to receive either

Molecular BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
4
Article|111 citations·2003
Actigraphy suggests age‐related differences in napping and nocturnal sleep
In‐Young Yoon, Daniel F. Kripke, Shawn D. Youngstedt, Jeffrey A. Elliott
SJR Q1Journal of Sleep Research

The aim of this study was to contrast the time distribution of out-of-bed napping in young and older adults through recordings of wrist activity, and to evaluate the correlates of napping with nocturnal sleep. Seventy-three young adults between 18 and 32 years and 60 older adults between 60 and 75 years of age participated in the study. Subjects were selected for good general health and had few sleep complaints. They wore wrist-activity monitors and kept daily sleep logs for 1 week. Automatic sl

Experimental and Cognitive PsychologyPsychology
5
Article|90 citations·2015
Progression of cognitive impairments in idiopathic REM sleep behaviour disorder
Soyoung Youn, Tae Kim, In‐Young Yoon, Jahyun Jeong, Hye Young Kim, Ji Won Han, Jong‐Min Kim, Ki Woong Kim
SJR Q1Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry

Patients with iRBD have cognitive impairments at baseline and progressive cognitive decline over time. Even in idiopathic cases without development of any neurodegenerative disease, degenerative changes in cognition seem to be under way.

NeurologyMedicine
6
Article|80 citations·2009
Prevalence, comorbidities and risk factors of restless legs syndrome in the Korean elderly population – results from the Korean Longitudinal Study on Health and Aging
Ki Woong Kim, In‐Young Yoon, Seockhoon Chung, Yoon-Kyung Shin, Seok Bum Lee, Eun Ae Choi, Joon Hyuck Park, JONG‐MIN KIM
SJR Q1Journal of Sleep ResearchOA

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, neuropsychiatric comorbidities, iron metabolism and potential risk factors of restless legs syndrome (RLS) in the elderly Korean population. As a community-based epidemiological study, a simple random sample of 1118 was drawn from a roster of 61 730 adult individuals aged 65 years and older and 714 participated. The diagnosis of RLS was established in face-to-face interviews using the four minimal diagnostic criteria for RLS recommended by N

EpidemiologyMedicine
7
Article|61 citations·2000
Relationship of paroxetine disposition to metoprolol metabolic ratio and CYP2D6*10 genotype of Korean subjects
In‐Young Yoon
SJR Q1Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics

The CYP2D6 activity measured by metoprolol MR was a strong predictor of paroxetine disposition in Korean extensive metabolizers. In general, the extensive metabolizers with the CYP2D6*10B allele seemed to have higher plasma concentrations of paroxetine than extensive metabolizers with the wild-type CYP2D6 genotype. However, quantitative prediction of paroxetine disposition from the CYP2D6*10B genotype alone was not perfect because several Korean extensive metabolizers had metoprolol MRs that wer

PharmacologyPharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics
8
Article|57 citations·2016
Prevalence and clinical characteristics of insomnia and its subtypes in the Korean elderly
Ki Woong Kim, Suk-Hoon Kang, In‐Young Yoon, Sang Don Lee, Gawon Ju, Ji Won Han, Tae Hui Kim, Chung Suk Lee, Tae Kim
SJR Q1Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics
Experimental and Cognitive PsychologyPsychology
9
Article|56 citations·2008
Endothelial dysfunction and inflammatory reactions of elderly and middle-aged men with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome
Seockhoon Chung, In‐Young Yoon, Yoon-Kyung Shin, Chul Hee Lee, Jeong‐Whun Kim, Hee Jeong Ahn
SJR Q1Sleep And Breathing
PhysiologyMedicine
10
Article|48 citations·2012
Effects of Sleep Apnea Syndrome on Delayed Memory and Executive Function in Elderly Adults
Gawon Ju, In‐Young Yoon, Sang Don Lee, Tae Hui Kim, Jin Young Choe, Ki Woong Kim
SJR Q1Journal of the American Geriatrics Society

OBJECTIVES: To identify differences in cognitive function between elderly adults with sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) and healthy controls. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SETTING: Sleep laboratory at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Sixty-three elderly adults (26 female; mean age 68.2 ± 4.8) without cognitive disorders. MEASUREMENTS: Sleep-laboratory polysomnography findings and cognitive function results determined using the Korean version of the Consortium to Establish a Registry

PhysiologyMedicine
11
Article|45 citations·2002
ROLE OF MORNING MELATONIN ADMINISTRATION AND ATTENUATION OF SUNLIGHT EXPOSURE IN IMPROVING ADAPTATION OF NIGHT-SHIFT WORKERS
In‐Young Yoon, Byoung-Gun Song
SJR Q2Chronobiology International

The authors studied whether melatonin administration improves adaptation of workers to nightshift and if its beneficial effect is enhanced by attenuation of morning sunlight exposure. Twelve nightshift nurses received three treatments: Placebo (Pla), Melatonin (Mel), and Melatonin with Sunglasses (Mel-S). Each treatment procedure was administered for 2d of different 4d nightshifts in a repeated measures crossover design. In Pla, nurses were treated with placebo before daytime sleep and allowed e

Experimental and Cognitive PsychologyPsychology
12
Article|45 citations·2012
Increased striatal dopamine transporter density in moderately severe old restless legs syndrome patients
Ki Woong Kim, J.H. Jhoo, Seok Bum Lee, S. D. Lee, T. H. Kim, S. E. Kim, Y. K. Kim, In‐Young Yoon
SJR Q1European Journal of NeurologyOA

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Dopamine dysregulation in restless legs syndrome (RLS) may be varied by the severity of RLS, which could contribute to the conflicting results from previous functional neuroimaging studies on the central dopaminergic neurotransmission of RLS. The aim of this study was to observe whether reduced striatal dopaminergic neurotransmission is associated with moderate to moderately severe RLS. METHODS: Thirteen elderly patients with RLS and 12 normal elderly controls were enroll

EpidemiologyMedicine
13
Article|43 citations·1998
Circadian rhythms in subjective activation, mood, and performance efficiency
In‐Young Yoon
Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology

Circadian rhythms in subjective alertness, mood, and performance can be classified as psychological rhythm, compared with physiological rhythm such as body temperature and hormonal change. While in normal condition entrained by 24hr zeitgeber, subjective alertness would reach its maximum value around midday, subjective alertness would parallel body temperature rhythm with its peak at evening in non-entrained, free-running state. With desynchronization technique, subjective alertness rhythm is th

Endocrine and Autonomic SystemsNeuroscience
14
Article|41 citations·2010
The effects of nasal continuous positive airway pressure on vascular functions and serum cardiovascular risk factors in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome
Seockhoon Chung, In‐Young Yoon, Chul Hee Lee, Jeong‐Whun Kim
SJR Q1Sleep And Breathing
PhysiologyMedicine
15
Article|41 citations·2015
Subjective memory complaints in an elderly population with poor sleep quality
Suk-Hoon Kang, In‐Young Yoon, Sang Don Lee, Tae Kim, Chung Suk Lee, Ji Won Han, Ki Woong Kim, Chan‐Hyung Kim
SJR Q1Aging & Mental HealthOA

In the elderly without depression, poor sleep quality was associated with subjective memory complaints, but not with objective cognitive measures. As subjective memory complaints might develop into cognitive disorders, poor sleep quality in the elderly needs to be adequately controlled.

Experimental and Cognitive PsychologyPsychology

Research Areas

PhysiologyExperimental and Cognitive PsychologyCognitive NeuroscienceEpidemiologyNeurologyPsychiatry and Mental health

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