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Seoncheol Park

Hanyang University · Medicine

About the Lab

Professor Seoncheol Park's research lab specializes in neuropsychiatry and clinical psychopharmacology, focusing on the biological underpinnings of mood and psychotic disorders. The lab investigates the interplay between stress, neuroinflammation, and depression, with an emphasis on clinical phenotypes, diagnostic heterogeneity, and symptom subtypes such as insomnia and age at onset in major depressive disorder. Their work also extends to comparative effectiveness research in schizophrenia, particularly evaluating long-acting injectable versus oral antipsychotics. The lab leverages large-scale cohort studies from South Korea, including the CRESCEND study, to inform precision psychiatry and evidence-based treatment strategies.

depressioninsomniainflammationantipsychoticsclinical phenotypes

Research Overview

Papers
228
Total Citations
2,853
Papers (5y)
63
Primary Field
Medicine

Research Output Trend

Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.

Publications per year (5y)
63total
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
Citations per year (5y)
361total
20222023202420252026

Selected Papers

15
1
editorial|248 citations·2020
Mental Health Care Measures in Response to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Outbreak in Korea
Seon‐Cheol Park, Yong Chon Park
SJR Q2Psychiatry InvestigationOA

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (2019R1A2C1090146).

Clinical PsychologyPsychology
2
Article|163 citations·2020
The Centrality of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms in Major Depressive Disorder Determined Using a Network Analysis
Seon‐Cheol Park, Daeho Kim
SJR Q1Journal of Affective Disorders
Experimental and Cognitive PsychologyPsychology
3
Review|104 citations·2022
The Relationship between Stress, Inflammation, and Depression
Il Bin Kim, Jae-Hon Lee, Seon‐Cheol Park
SJR Q1BiomedicinesOA

A narrative review about the relationship between stress, inflammation, and depression is made as follows: Chronic stress leads to various stress-related diseases such as depression. Although most human diseases are related to stress exposure, the common pathways between stress and pathophysiological processes of different disorders are still debatable. Chronic inflammation is a crucial component of chronic diseases, including depression. Both experimental and clinical studies have demonstrated

Biological PsychiatryNeuroscience
4
Review|98 citations·2019
Neurogenesis and antidepressant action
Seon‐Cheol Park
SJR Q1Cell and Tissue Research
Developmental NeuroscienceNeuroscience
5
Article|82 citations·2016
How many different symptom combinations fulfil the diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder? Results from the CRESCEND study
Seon‐Cheol Park, Jae‐Min Kim, Tae‐Youn Jun, Min‐Soo Lee, Jung-Bum Kim, Hyeon Woo Yim, Yong Chon Park
SJR Q2Nordic Journal of Psychiatry

BACKGROUND: The polythetic nature of major depressive disorder (MDD) in DSM- IV and DSM-5 inevitably leads to diagnostic heterogeneity. AIMS: This study aimed to identify the number of depressive symptom combinations actually fulfilling the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria that can be found in Korean MDD patients and the relative frequencies of each combination. METHODS: Using the data from the Clinical Research Center for Depression (CRESCEND) study in South Korea, we enrolled 853 MDD patients diagno

PharmacologyMedicine
6
Article|77 citations·2013
Prevalence and Clinical Correlates of Insomnia in Depressive Disorders: The CRESCEND Study
Seon‐Cheol Park, Jae‐Min Kim, Tae‐Youn Jun, Min-Soo Lee, Jung-Bum Kim, Seung-Hee Jeong, Yong Chon Park
SJR Q2Psychiatry InvestigationOA

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence, clinical manifestations, and clinical correlates of insomnia in a large cohort of Korean patients with depressive disorders. METHODS: We recruited 944 patients with depressive disorders from the Clinical Research Center for Depression of South Korea (CRESCEND) study. Psychometric scales were used to assess depression (HAMD), anxiety (HAMA), psychotic symptoms (BPRS), global severity (CGI-S), and functioning (SOFAS). Insomnia levels were determined by add

Experimental and Cognitive PsychologyPsychology
7
Article|70 citations·2014
Does Age at Onset of First Major Depressive Episode Indicate the Subtype of Major Depressive Disorder?: The Clinical Research Center for Depression Study
Seon‐Cheol Park, Sang‐Woo Hahn, Tae-Yeon Hwang, Jae‐Min Kim, Tae‐Youn Jun, Min-Soo Lee, Jung-Bum Kim, Hyeon Woo Yim, Yong Chon Park
SJR Q2Yonsei Medical JournalOA

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of age at onset of the first major depressive episode on the clinical features of individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) in a large cohort of Korean depressed patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We recruited 419 MDD patients of age over 18 years from the Clinical Research Center for Depression study in South Korea. At the start of the study, the onset age of the first major depressive episode was self-reported by the subjects.

PharmacologyMedicine
8
Review|63 citations·2018
Comparative Efficacy and Safety of Long-acting Injectable and Oral Second-generation Antipsychotics for the Treatment of Schizophrenia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Seon‐Cheol Park, Mi Young􀀁 Choi, Jina Choi, Eun‐Jung Park, Ha Jin Tchoe, Jae Kyung Suh, Young Hoon Kim, Seung Hee Won, Young‐Chul Chung, Kyung‐Yeol Bae, Sang Gyu Lee, Chan Mi Park
SJR Q2Clinical Psychopharmacology and NeuroscienceOA

We aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of long-acting injectable (LAI) and oral second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs) in treating schizophrenia by performing a systematic review and meta-analysis. MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Library, as well as five Korean databases, were systemically searched to identify studies published from 2000 to 16 April 2015, which compared the efficacy and safety of LAI and oral SGAs. Using data from randomized controlled trials (RCTs), me

Psychiatry and Mental healthMedicine
9
Review|62 citations·2020
Anxiety Disorders in the DSM-5: Changes, Controversies, and Future Directions
Seon‐Cheol Park, Yong‐Ku Kim
SJR Q3Advances in experimental medicine and biology
Experimental and Cognitive PsychologyPsychology
10
Article|59 citations·2014
Evidence-Based, Non-Pharmacological Treatment Guideline for Depression in Korea
Seon‐Cheol Park, Hong Seok Oh, Dong-Hoon Oh, Seung Ah Jung, Kyoung‐Sae Na, Hwa-Young Lee, Ree-Hun Kang, Yun–Kyeung Choi, Min‐Soo Lee, Yong Chon Park
SJR Q2Journal of Korean Medical ScienceOA

Although pharmacological treatment constitutes the main therapeutic approach for depression, non-pharmacological treatments (self-care or psychotherapeutic approach) are usually regarded as more essential therapeutic approaches in clinical practice. However, there have been few clinical practice guidelines concerning self-care or psychotherapy in the management of depression. This study introduces the 'Evidence-Based, Non-Pharmacological Treatment Guideline for Depression in Korea.' For the firs

PharmacologyMedicine
11
Review|41 citations·2021
The Entorhinal Cortex and Adult Neurogenesis in Major Depression
Il Bin Kim, Seon‐Cheol Park
SJR Q1International Journal of Molecular SciencesOA

Depression is characterized by impairments in adult neurogenesis. Reduced hippocampal function, which is suggestive of neurogenesis impairments, is associated with depression-related phenotypes. As adult neurogenesis operates in an activity-dependent manner, disruption of hippocampal neurogenesis in depression may be a consequence of neural circuitry impairments. In particular, the entorhinal cortex is known to have a regulatory effect on the neural circuitry related to hippocampal function and

Developmental NeuroscienceNeuroscience
12
Article|40 citations·2014
Distinctive Clinical Correlates of Psychotic Major Depression: The CRESCEND Study
Seon‐Cheol Park, Hwa-Young Lee, Jeong-Kyu Sakong, Tae‐Youn Jun, Min‐Soo Lee, Jae‐Min Kim, Jung-Bum Kim, Hyeon Woo Yim, Yong Chon Park
SJR Q2Psychiatry InvestigationOA

Our findings partly support the view that PMD has its own distinctive clinical manifestation and course, and may be considered a diagnostic entity separate from NPMD.

PharmacologyMedicine
13
Article|39 citations·2020
“Suicide CARE” (Standardized Suicide Prevention Program for Gatekeeper Intervention in Korea): An Update
Seon‐Cheol Park, Kyoung‐Sae Na, Sun-Jung Kwon, Minjae Kim, Hyoung-Jun Kim, Myungjae Baik, Jinmi Seol, Eun Ji An, Sang Min Lee, Eunjin Lee, Meerae Lim, Sung Joon Cho
SJR Q2Psychiatry InvestigationOA

OBJECTIVE: In 2011, "Suicide CARE" (Standardized Suicide Prevention Program for Gatekeeper Intervention in Korea) was originally developed for the early detection of warning signs of suicide completion, since there is a tendency to regard emotional suppression as a virtue of Korean traditional culture. A total of 1.2 million individuals completed the training program of "Suicide CARE" in Korea. METHODS: More sophisticated suicide prevention approaches according to age, sex, and occupation have b

Clinical PsychologyPsychology
14
Review|36 citations·2021
Neural Circuitry–Neurogenesis Coupling Model of Depression
Il Bin Kim, Seon‐Cheol Park
SJR Q1International Journal of Molecular SciencesOA

Depression is characterized by the disruption of both neural circuitry and neurogenesis. Defects in hippocampal activity and volume, indicative of reduced neurogenesis, are associated with depression-related behaviors in both humans and animals. Neurogenesis in adulthood is considered an activity-dependent process; therefore, hippocampal neurogenesis defects in depression can be a result of defective neural circuitry activity. However, the mechanistic understanding of how defective neural circui

Developmental NeuroscienceNeuroscience
15
Article|36 citations·2020
Network analysis of the depressive symptom profiles in Asian patients with depressive disorders: Findings from the Research on Asian Psychotropic Prescription Patterns for Antidepressants (REAP‐AD)
Seon‐Cheol Park, Eun Young Jang, Yu‐Tao Xiang, Shigenobu Kanba, Takahiro A. Kato, Mian‐Yoon Chong, Shih‐Ku Lin, Shuyu Yang, Ajit Avasthi, Sandeep Grover, Roy Abraham Kallivayalil, Pichet Udomratn
SJR Q1Psychiatry and Clinical NeurosciencesOA

AIM: We aimed to estimate the network structures of depressive symptoms using network analysis and evaluated the geographic regional differences in theses network structures among Asian patients with depressive disorders. METHODS: Using data from the Research on Asian Psychotropic Prescription Patterns for Antidepressants (REAP-AD), the network of the ICD-10 diagnostic criteria for depressive episode was estimated from 1174 Asian patients with depressive disorders. The node strength centrality o

Experimental and Cognitive PsychologyPsychology

Research Areas

Psychiatry and Mental healthExperimental and Cognitive PsychologyClinical PsychologyPharmacologyGeneral Health ProfessionsPhilosophy

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