Structural and Functional Alterations in Right Dorsomedial Prefrontal and Left Insular Cortex Co-Localize in Adolescents with Aggressive Behaviour: An ALE Meta-Analysis.

Nora Maria Raschle,Ebongo Tshomba,Lynn Valérie Fehlbaum,Christina Stadler,Willeke Martine Menks,Peter John Mckenna

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0136553

Nora Maria Raschle, Ebongo Tshomba + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0136553

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Journal: PloS one	Publication Date: Sep 4, 2015
Citations: 52	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Psychiatry Baselland

Abstract

Recent neuroimaging work has suggested that aggressive behaviour (AB) is associated with structural and functional brain abnormalities in processes subserving emotion processing and regulation. However, most neuroimaging studies on AB to date only contain relatively small sample sizes. To objectively investigate the consistency of previous structural and functional research in adolescent AB, we performed a systematic literature review and two coordinate-based activation likelihood estimation meta-analyses on eight VBM and nine functional neuroimaging studies in a total of 783 participants (408 [224AB/184 controls] and 375 [215 AB/160 controls] for structural and functional analysis respectively). We found 19 structural and eight functional foci of significant alterations in adolescents with AB, mainly located within the emotion processing and regulation network (including orbitofrontal, dorsomedial prefrontal and limbic cortex). A subsequent conjunction analysis revealed that functional and structural alterations co-localize in right dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and left insula. Our results are in line with meta-analytic work as well as structural, functional and connectivity findings to date, all of which make a strong point for the involvement of a network of brain areas responsible for emotion processing and regulation, which is disrupted in AB. Increased knowledge about the behavioural and neuronal underpinnings of AB is crucial for the development of novel and implementation of existing treatment strategies. Longitudinal research studies will have to show whether the observed alterations are a result or primary cause of the phenotypic characteristics in AB.

Highlights

Aggressive behaviour (AB), as observed in social disorders such as DBD (including conduct (CD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD)), is characterized by a repeated pattern of antisocial behaviour and severe aggression, where the basic rights of others, major age-appropriatePLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0136553 September 4, 2015Neuronal Alterations in Adolescents with Aggressive Behaviour norms or societal rules are violated [1]
In the current paper we focus on adolescents with aggressive behaviour (AB), hereby summarizing neuroimaging research in youths with either conduct problems, CD or ODD
Aggressive behaviour constitutes a major issue of public health and increased knowledge about the behavioural and neuronal underpinnings of AB are crucial for the development of novel and implementation of existing treatment strategies

Summary

Introduction

Neuronal Alterations in Adolescents with Aggressive Behaviour norms or societal rules are violated [1]. Such problems can cause significant impairment in social, academic, or occupational functioning [2,3]. Neurodevelopmental theories [8,9,10] and longitudinal studies [11] are in line with these behavioural observations, suggesting that the presence of early brain alterations in individuals with aggressive behaviour may heighten the risk for long-lasting social impairments [12,13]. In the current paper we focus on adolescents with aggressive behaviour (AB), hereby summarizing neuroimaging research in youths with either conduct problems, CD or ODD

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