Activation Likelihood Estimation Meta-analysis Research Articles

The cross-domain functional organization of posterior lateral temporal cortex: insights from ALE meta-analyses of 7 cognitive domains spanning 12,000 participants.

The posterior lateral temporal cortex is implicated in many verbal, nonverbal, and social cognitive domains and processes. Yet without directly comparing these disparate domains, the region's organization remains unclear; do distinct processes engage discrete subregions, or could different domains engage shared neural correlates and processes? Here, using activation likelihood estimation meta-analyses, the bilateral posterior lateral temporal cortex subregions engaged in 7 domains were directly compared. These domains comprised semantics, semantic control, phonology, biological motion, face processing, theory of mind, and representation of tools. Although phonology and biological motion were predominantly associated with distinct regions, other domains implicated overlapping areas, perhaps due to shared underlying processes. Theory of mind recruited regions implicated in semantic representation, tools engaged semantic control areas, and faces engaged subregions for biological motion and theory of mind. This cross-domain approach provides insight into how posterior lateral temporal cortex is organized and why.

Inhibition, Shifting and Updating: Inter and intra-domain commonalities and differences from an executive functions activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis

Executive functions are higher-order mental processes that support goal-directed behavior. Among these processes, Inhibition, Updating, and Shifting have been considered core executive domains. In this meta-analysis, we comprehensively investigate the neural networks of these executive domains and we synthesize for the first time the neural convergences and divergences among the most frequently used executive paradigms within those domains. A systematic search yielded 1055 published neuroimaging studies (including 26,191 participants in total). Our study revealed that a fronto-parietal network was shared by the three main domains. Furthermore, we executed conjunction analyses among the paradigms of the same domain to extract the core distinctive components of the main executive domains. This approach showed that Inhibition and Shifting are characterized by a strongly lateralized neural activation in the right and left hemisphere, respectively. In addition, both networks overlapped with the Updating network but not with each other. Remarkably, our study detected heterogeneity among the paradigms from the same domain. More specifically, analysis of Inhibition tasks revealed differing activations for Response Inhibition compared to Interference Control paradigms, suggesting that Inhibition encompasses relatively heterogeneous sub-functions. Shifting analyses revealed a bilateral overlap of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task with the Updating network, but this pattern was absent for Rule Switching and Dual Task paradigms. Moreover, our Updating meta-analyses revealed the neural signatures associated with the specific modules of the Working Memory model from Baddeley and Hitch. To our knowledge, this is the most comprehensive meta-analysis of executive functions to date. Its paradigm-driven analyses provide a unique contribution to a better understanding of the neural convergences and divergences among executive processes that are relevant for clinical applications, such as cognitive enhancement and neurorehabilitation interventions.

Neural correlates of multisensory integration in the human brain: an ALE meta-analysis.

Previous fMRI research identified superior temporal sulcus as central integration area for audiovisual stimuli. However, less is known about a general multisensory integration network across senses. Therefore, we conducted activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis with multiple sensory modalities to identify a common brain network. We included 49 studies covering all Aristotelian senses i.e.,auditory, visual, tactile, gustatory, and olfactory stimuli. Analysis revealed significant activation in bilateral superior temporal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, thalamus, right insula, and leftinferior frontal gyrus. We assume these regions to be partof a general multisensory integration network comprising different functional roles. Here, thalamus operate as first subcortical relay projecting sensory information to higher cortical integration centers in superior temporal gyrus/sulcus while conflict-processing brain regions as insula and inferior frontal gyrus facilitate integration of incongruent information. We additionally performed meta-analytic connectivity modelling and found each brain region showed co-activations within theidentified multisensory integration network. Therefore, by including multiple sensory modalities in our meta-analysis the results may provide evidence for a common brain network that supports different functional roles for multisensory integration.

P01.18.B Structural abnormalities related to chemotherapy in cancer survivors: an ALE meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies

Abstract Background Chemotherapy induced cognitive impairment (CICI) is a term used for the cognitive dysfunction reported with non-central nervous system cancer patients during or after chemotherapy. Recent neuroimaging studies have shown decreased activation in cancer patients during cognitive tasks post-chemotherapy. Structural changes are sought to be associated with cognitive decline in cancer survivors after chemotherapy. Here we aim to investigate the neuroimaging findings of structural abnormalities and gray matter alterations associated with chemotherapy in cancer survivors. Material and Methods A systematic search through PubMed database for peer-reviewed English-language studies yielded a total of 302 studies. Eligible studies were included in the activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis if they reported coordinates in a stereotactic format (MNI or Talairach space) for voxel-based morphometric (VBM) studies on gray matter volume and post-chemotherapy cancer survivors compared to matched healthy controls. GingerALE (3.0.2) software from Brainmap.org was used to perform the ALE meta-analysis with threshold settings of uncorrected P-value < 0.001 for multiple comparisons. Results The study sample included 299 patients comprised of breast cancer survivors (BCS), childhood acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) survivors, ovarian cancer survivors (OCS) and lung cancer with 279 matched healthy controls from 12 studies and 21 experiments. ALE-maps for post-chemotherapy cancer survivors showed reduced gray matter volume in comparison to healthy controls in the left inferior frontal gyrus, right thalamus, right superior frontal gyrus, right medial frontal gyrus and right cerebellum (peak coordinates: [-43,40,-6], [23,-29,2], [14,30,55], [9,57,-16], [9,-78,-41] respectively, and cluster size of 544 mm3, 312 mm3 and 257 mm3, 296 mm3, 297 mm3 respectively). Conclusion This is the first ALE meta-analysis that studied the converged areas of reduced gray matter volume in post-chemotherapy cancer survivors. Our findings of reduced gray matter volume in frontal regions and cerebellum might be responsible for the cognitive dysfunction in executive function, attention, and memory observed in cancer survivors. Further studies are needed to assess the impact of different chemotherapeutic regimens related to CICI .

Potential Targets for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation on Depersonalization-Derealization Disorder.

Introduction: Non-invasive brain stimulation seems to be beneficial for DPD patients. However, the sites used in previous studies were empirical. Exploring new stimulation locations via functional magnetic resonance imaging may improve the efficacy. Objectives: The objective was to find potential locations for non-invasive brain stimulation on the depersonalization-derealization disorder. Methods: We explored the potential brain surface regions from three pipelines: pipeline 1: activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis (five studies with 36 foci included); pipeline 2: functional connectivity analysis based on DPD-network (76 subjects included); and pipeline 3: functional connectivity analysis based on DPD regions of interest from the meta-analysis. Potential targets were the 10–20 system coordinates for brain surface regions. Results: We identified several potential brain surface regions, including the bilateral medial prefrontal cortex, dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex, superior parietal gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, and right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex as potential sites. Conclusion: Our findings of the potential stimulation targets might help clinicians optimize the application of non-invasive brain stimulation therapy in individuals with DPD.

Risk-taking in the human brain: An activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis of the balloon analog risk task (BART).

The Balloon Analog Risk Task (BART) is increasingly used to assess risk-taking behavior and brain function. However, the brain networks underlying risk-taking during the BART and its reliability remain controversial. Here, we combined the activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis with both task-based and task-free functional connectivity (FC) analysis to quantitatively synthesize brain networks involved in risk-taking during the BART, and compared the differences between adults and adolescents studies. Based on 22 pooled publications, the ALE meta-analysis revealed multiple brain regions in the reward network, salience network, and executive control network underlying risk-taking during the BART. Compared with adult risk-taking, adolescent risk-taking showed greater activation in the insula, putamen, and prefrontal regions. The combination of meta-analytic connectivity modeling with task-free FC analysis further confirmed the involvement of the reward, salience, and cognitive control networks in the BART. These findings demonstrate the core brain networks for risk-taking during the BART and support the utility of the BART for future neuroimaging and developmental research.

Spatial-topographic nestedness of interoceptive regions within the networks of decision making and emotion regulation: Combining ALE meta-analysis and MACM analysis

Prominent theories propose that interoception modulates our behavioral and emotional responses involving decision-making and emotion regulation. Are the regions implicated in interoception also spatially related to and possibly nested within the networks of decision making and emotion regulation? Addressing this question, we performed three meta-analyses of functional magnetic resonance imaging studies to identify the regions that are commonly activated by the three domains using activation likelihood estimation (ALE). Additionally, we assessed the coactivation pattern of identified common regions using meta-analytic connectivity modeling (MACM). The results showed major overlaps of interoception with both decision making and emotion regulation in specifically the right dorsal anterior insula. The pairwise contrast analyses confirmed this finding and revealed conjunction-based activities in decision making and emotion regulation in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC). MACM based on the identified insula revealed a widespread convergent coactivation pattern with the left anterior insula, dACC, and bilateral thalamus which, together, constitute the salience network. Among these co-activated regions, bilateral insula and the dACC were shared among all three domains. These results suggest that the regions mediating interoception including intero-exteroceptive integration and salience attribution are contained and thus spatially nested within the more extensive networks recruited during decision making and emotion regulation.

Functional brain changes in Parkinson's disease: a whole brain ALE study.

Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) was widely used as an effective tool in the diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases. However, prior rs-fMRI studies reported inconsistent results for comparison between Parkinson's disease (PD) and healthy controls (HC). We searched studies published before December 2021 in databases (PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar). An activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis was made for functional changes in PD. The study finally included 25 studies (including 973 PD patients and 766 HC). PD patients showed reduced amplitude of low frequency fluctuations (ALFF) in the left superior temporal gyrus (STG), the left superior frontal gyrus (SFG), the left medial frontal gyrus (MFG), the left precuneus (PCUN), and the right lentiform nucleus, compared to HC. PD patients showed increased ALFF in the right SFG, the left superior parietal lobule (SPL), the left STG, the right fusiform gyrus, the left inferior temporal gyrus (ITG), and the right parahippocampal gyrus (PHG), compared to HC. PD patients showed reduced regional homogeneity (ReHo) in the right declive, the right MFG, the left culmen, and the left thalamus, compared to HC. PD patients showed increased ReHo in the right SFG, compared to HC. Additionally, PD patients showed reduced functional connectivity (FC) in the right posterior cingulate (PCG), compared to HC. The present ALE analysis has confirmed functional deficits in motor-, emotion-, and cognition-related regions in PD. Deficits in these regions in rs-fMRI studies could play a role in early diagnosis of PD.

Neural correlates of embodied action language processing: a systematic review and meta-analytic study.

The neural correlates of action language processing are still debated within embodied cognition research and little is known about the flexible involvement of modality-specific pre-motor system and multimodal high-level temporo-parietal regions as a function of explicit and implicit tasks. A systematic review and the Activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analyses on functional neuroimaging studies were performed to identify neural correlates of action language processing activated during explicit and implicit tasks. The contrast ALE meta-analysis revealed activation of modality-specific premotor area and inferior frontal areas during explicit action language tasks while a greater activation of posterior temporo-occipital areas emerged for implicit tasks. The conjunction analysis revealed overlap in the temporo-parietal multimodal high-level regions for both types of tasks. Functional specialization of the middle temporal gyrus was found where the more posterior-occipital part resulted activated during implicit action language tasks whereas the antero-lateral part was involved in explicit tasks. Our findings were discussed within a conceptual flexibility perspective about the involvement of both the modality-specific and multimodal brain system during action language processing depending on different types of tasks.

Altered spontaneous brain activity in major depressive disorder: An activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis

BackgroundWide application of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in psychiatric research has revealed that major depressive disorder (MDD) manifest abnormal neural activities in several brain regions involving key resting state networks. However, inconsistent results have hampered our understanding of the exact neuropathology associated with MDD. Therefore, our aim was to conduct a meta-analysis to identify the consistent vulnerable brain regions of MDD in resting state, and to reveal the potential pathogenesis of MDD. MethodsA systematic review analysis was conducted on studies involving brain resting-state changes in MDD using low-frequency amplitude (ALFF), fractional low-frequency amplitude (fALFF) and regional homogeneity (ReHo) analysis. The meta-analysis was based on the activation likelihood estimation method, using the software of Ginger ALE 2.3. Results25 studies (892 MDD and 799 healthy controls) were included. Based on the meta-analysis results of ReHo, we found robust reduction of resting-state spontaneous brain activity in MDD, including the left cuneus and right middle occipital gyrus (cluster size = 216, 256 mm3, uncorrected P < 0.0001), while no increased spontaneous activation in any of the brain regions. We also found reduced ALFF in the left middle occipital gyrus (cluster size = 224 mm3, uncorrected P < 0.0001), and no increased spontaneous brain activation in any regions. ConclusionOur meta-analysis study using the activation likelihood estimation method demonstrated that MDD showed significant abnormalities in spontaneous neural activity, compared with healthy controls, mainly in areas associated with visual processing, such as the cuneus and the middle occipital gyrus. Dysfunction of these brain regions may be one of the pathogenesis of MDD.

Activation network mapping for integration of heterogeneous fMRI findings.

Functional neuroimaging techniques have been widely used to probe the neural substrates of facial emotion processing in healthy people. However, findings are largely inconsistent across studies. Here, we introduce a new technique termed activation network mapping to examine whether heterogeneous functional magnetic resonance imaging findings localize to a common network for emotion processing. First, using the existing method of activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis, we showed that individual-brain-based reproducibility was low across studies. Second, using activation network mapping, we found that network-based reproducibility across these same studies was higher. Validation analysis indicated that the activation network mapping-localized network aligned with stimulation sites, structural abnormalities and brain lesions that disrupt facial emotion processing. Finally, we verified the generality of the activation network mapping technique by applying it to another cognitive process, that is, rumination. Activation network mapping may potentially be broadly applicable to localize brain networks of cognitive functions.

The Common and Different Neural Bases of Distraction and Reinterpretation: A Meta-Analysis of fMRI Studies.

Distraction and reinterpretation have been recognized as two different tactics of emotion regulation. As a tactic of attention deployment, distraction involves shifting attention to neutral information or performing a secondary task to distract attention from emotion stimuli of the primary task. Reinterpretation, a representative tactic of cognitive change, was defined as changing the meaning of a situation to enhance or reduce its emotional impact. Thus, there are significant differences between the two processes. We wondered if the neural mechanisms underlying distraction and reinterpretation are different. Even though their neural correlates have been widely studied with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), few studies were conducted to compare the two tactics directly. Here we conducted an activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analyses to investigate the common or different neural bases of distraction and reinterpretation. Moreover, we also used the meta-analytic connectivity modeling (MACM) to identify the emotion regulation network of distraction and reinterpretation. Overall, we found that the left dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) was consistently activated during distraction and reinterpretation, whereas the left amygdala and inferior frontal gyrus/ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) were specifically activated during reinterpretation alone. The results indicate that the neural basis of distraction and reinterpretation are similar but not identical. The MACM results showed that distraction and reinterpretation share a common emotion regulation network, including the bilateral DLPFC, the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex, the inferior parietal lobule, the insula, the left (pre) supplementary motor area, the left middle temporal gyrus, and the right superior temporal gyrus. However, that network may subserve different functions when adopting various emotion regulation strategies. In addition, we suggest that the emotion regulation network of the left VLPFC may be a specific regulatory network for reinterpretation.

Neural substrates of brand equity: applying a quantitative meta-analytical method for neuroimage studies

Although the concept of brand equity has been investigated using various approaches, a comprehensive neural basis for brand equity remains unclear. The default mode network (DMN) as a mental process might influence brand equity related consumers' decision-making, as reported in the marketing literature. While studies on the overlapping regions between the DMN and value-based decision-making related brain regions have been reported in neuroscience literature, relationships between the DMN and a neural mechanism of brand equity have not been clarified. The aim of our study is to identify neural substrates of brand equity and examine brand equity-related mental processes by comparing them to the DMN. To determine the neural substrates of brand equity, we first carried out the activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis. We examined 26 studies using branded objects as experimental stimuli for the ALE. Next, we set the output regions from ALE as the region of interest for meta-analytic connectivity modeling (MACM). Further, we compared the brand equity-related brain network (BE-RBN) revealed by the MACM with the DMN. We confirmed that the BE-RBN brain regions overlap with the medial temporal lobule (MTL) sub-system, a module composed of the DMN but excluding the retrosplenial cortex. Further, we discovered that several brain regions apart from the DMN are also distinctive BE-RBN brain regions (i.e., the insula, the inferior frontal gyrus, amygdala, ventral striatum, parietal region). We decoded the BE-RBN brain regions using the BrandMap module. The decoded results revealed that the brand equity-related mental processes are complex constructs integrated via multiple mental processes such as self-referential, reward, emotional, memory, and sensorimotor processing. Our study demonstrated that the DMN alone is insufficient to engage in brand equity-related mental processes. Therefore, marketers are required to make strategic plans to integrate the five consumer's multiple mental processes while building brand equity.

OAB supraspinal control network, transition with age, and effect of treatment: A systematic review.

In light of a better understanding of supraspinal control of nonneurogenic overactive bladder (OAB), the prevalence of which increases with age, functional imaging has gained significant momentum. The objective of this study was to perform a systematic review on the transition of supraspinal control of OAB with age, the effect of therapeutic modalities, and a coordinate-based meta-analysis of all neuroimaging evidence on supraspinal OAB control in response to bladder filling. We performed a systematic literature search of all relevant libraries in November 2021. The coordinates of brain activity were extracted from eligible neuroimaging studies to perform an activation likelihood estimation (ALE)meta-analysis. A total of 16 studies out of 241 were selected for our systematic review. Coordinates were extracted from five experiments involving 70 patients. ALE meta-analysis showed activation of the insula, supplementary motor area, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate gyrus, and temporal gyrus with a transition of activation patterns with age, using a threshold of uncorrected p < 0.001. Among young patients, neuroplasticity allows the activation of accessory circuits to maintain continence, as in the cerebellum and temporoparietal lobes. Anticholinergics, pelvic floor muscle training, sacral neuromodulation, and hypnotherapy are correlated with supraspinal changes attributed to adaptability and possibly a substratum of an intrinsic supraspinal component. The latter is better demonstrated by a resting-state functional connectivity analysis, a promising tool to phenotype OAB with recent successful models of predicting severity and response to behavioral treatments. Future neuroimaging studies are necessary to better define an OAB neurosignature to allocate patients to successful treatments.

Imaging Insights of Isolated Idiopathic Dystonia: Voxel-Based Morphometry and Activation Likelihood Estimation Studies.

The understanding of brain structural abnormalities across different clinical forms of dystonia and their contribution to clinical characteristics remains unclear. The objective of this study is to investigate shared and specific gray matter volume (GMV) abnormalities in various forms of isolated idiopathic dystonia. We collected imaging data from 73 isolated idiopathic dystonia patients and matched them with healthy controls to explore the GMV alterations in patients and their correlations with clinical characteristics using the voxel-based morphometry (VBM) technique. In addition, we conducted an activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis of previous VBM studies. Our study demonstrated widespread morphometry alterations in patients with idiopathic dystonia. Multiple systems were affected, which mainly included basal ganglia, sensorimotor, executive control, and visual networks. As the result of the ALE meta-analysis, a convergent cluster with increased GMV was found in the left globus pallidus. In subgroup VBM analyses, decreased putamen GMV was observed in all clinic forms, while the increased GMV was observed in parahippocampal, lingual, and temporal gyrus. GD demonstrated the most extensive GMV abnormalities in cortical regions, and the aberrant GMV of the posterior cerebellar lobe was prominent in CD. Moreover, trends of increased GMV regions of the left precuneus and right superior frontal gyrus were demonstrated in the moderate-outcome group compared with the superior-outcome group. Results of our study indicated shared pathophysiology of the disease-centered on the dysfunction of the basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical circuit, impairing sensorimotor integration, high-level motor execution, and cognition of patients. Dysfunction of the cerebello-thalamo-cortical circuit could also be involved in CD especially. Finally, the frontal-parietal pathway may act as a potential marker for predicting treatment outcomes such as deep brain stimulation.

Volume, density, and thickness brain abnormalities in mild cognitive impairment: an ALE meta-analysis controlling for age and education.

Prior meta-analyses have provided important information regarding which brain areas are structurally compromised in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). These studies have not however separated volume, density, and thickness, controlled for important demographic influences, considered null findings, or recognized studies indicating increased brain volumes in MCI individuals. Furthermore, there is a question as to whether deficits extend into cortical regions, and also into the thalamus. This study aims to address these issues using activation likelihood estimation (ALE) analyses with a sample size more than twice that of prior meta-analyses. A total of 71 studies were identified and entered into the ALE analysis which consisted of 2262 with MCI and 1902 healthy controls. Three major clusters were identified showing decreased gray matter volume in the MCI group compared to controls, with the most salient decreases being in the hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus, and the amygdala. Reduced thalamic volume was also observed, but to a lesser extent. Density was reduced in the left hippocampus, while thickness was reduced in the uncus. No significant cluster emerged from an ALE meta-analysis of studies finding volume increases in MCI individuals. While the MCI group was significantly older and less educated than controls, controlling for these factors still resulted in significant, albeit attenuated findings. These results support hippocampal and parahippocampal deficits in MCI, and further highlight the amygdala, thalamus, and uncus as other areas to be considered in future MCI studies.

Meta-analytical transdiagnostic neural correlates in common pediatric psychiatric disorders

In the last decades, neuroimaging studies have attempted to unveil the neurobiological markers underlying pediatric psychiatric disorders. Yet, the vast majority of neuroimaging studies still focus on a single nosological category, which limit our understanding of the shared/specific neural correlates between these disorders. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the transdiagnostic neural correlates through a novel and data-driven meta-analytical method. A data-driven meta-analysis was carried out which grouped similar experiments’ topographic map together, irrespectively of nosological categories and task-characteristics. Then, activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis was performed on each group of experiments to extract spatially convergent brain regions. One hundred forty-seven experiments were retrieved (3124 cases compared to 3100 controls): 79 attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, 32 conduct/oppositional defiant disorder, 14 anxiety disorders, 22 major depressive disorders. Four significant groups of experiments were observed. Functional characterization suggested that these groups of aberrant brain regions may be implicated internally/externally directed processes, attentional control of affect, somato-motor and visual processes. Furthermore, despite that some differences in rates of studies involving major depressive disorders were noticed, nosological categories were evenly distributed between these four sets of regions. Our results may reflect transdiagnostic neural correlates of pediatric psychiatric disorders, but also underscore the importance of studying pediatric psychiatric disorders simultaneously rather than independently to examine differences between disorders.

Neural correlates of morphological processing: An activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis

BackgroundMorphemes are the smallest building blocks of language that convey meaning or function. A controversial issue in psycho- and neurolinguistics is whether morphologically complex words consisting of multiple morphemes are processed in a combinatorial manner and, if so, which brain regions underlie this process. Relatively less is known about the neural underpinnings of morphological processing compared to other aspects of grammatical competence such as syntax. PurposeThe present study aimed to shed light on the neural correlates of morphological processing by examining functional convergence for inflectional morphology reported in previous neuroimaging studies. MethodA systematic literature search was performed on PubMed with search terms related to morphological complexity and neuroimaging. 16 studies (279 subjects) comparing regular inflection with stems or irregular inflection met the inclusion and exclusion criteria and were subjected to a series of activation likelihood estimation meta-analyses. ResultsSignificant functional convergence was found in several mainly left frontal regions for processing inflectional morphology. Specifically, the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) was found to be consistently involved in morphological complexity. Diagnostic analyses revealed that involvement of posterior LIFG was robust against potential publication bias and over-influence of individual studies. Furthermore, LIFG involvement was maintained in meta-analyses of subsets of experiments that matched phonological complexity between conditions, although diagnostic analyses suggested that this conclusion may be premature. ConclusionThe findings provide evidence for combinatorial processing of morphologically complex words and inform psycholinguistic accounts of complex word processing. Furthermore, they highlight the role of LIFG in processing inflectional morphology, in addition to syntactic processing as has been emphasized in previous research. In particular, posterior LIFG seems to underlie grammatical functions encompassing inflectional morphology and syntax.

Neural Correlates of the Risk for Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder: A Meta-analysis of Structural and Functional Neuroimaging Studies

BackgroundClinical features and genetics overlap in schizophrenia (SCZ) and bipolar disorder (BD). Identifying brain alterations associated with genetic vulnerability for SCZ and BD could help to discover intermediate phenotypes, quantifiable biological traits with greater prevalence in unaffected relatives (RELs), and early recognition biomarkers in ultrahigh risk populations. However, a comprehensive meta-analysis of structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies examining relatives of patients with SCZ and BD has not been performed yet. MethodsWe systematically searched PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science for structural and functional MRI studies investigating relatives and healthy control subjects. A total of 230 eligible neuroimaging studies (6274 SCZ-RELs, 1900 BD-RELs, 10,789 healthy control subjects) were identified. We conducted coordinate-based activation likelihood estimation meta-analyses on 26 structural MRI and 81 functional MRI investigations, including stratification by task type. We also meta-analyzed regional and global volumetric changes. Finally, we performed a meta-analysis of all MRI studies combined. ResultsReduced thalamic volume was present in both SCZ and BD RELs. Moreover, SCZ-RELs showed alterations in corticostriatal-thalamic networks, spanning the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and temporal regions, while BD-RELs showed altered thalamocortical and limbic regions, including the ventrolateral prefrontal, superior parietal, and medial temporal cortices, with frontoparietal alterations in RELs of BD type I. ConclusionsFamiliarity for SCZ and BD is associated with alterations in the thalamocortical circuits, which may be the expression of the shared genetic mechanism underlying both disorders. Furthermore, the involvement of different prefrontocortical and temporal nodes may be associated with a differential symptom expression in the two disorders.

Gray Matter Alterations in Pediatric Schizophrenia and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Voxel-Based Morphometry Studies.

ObjectiveThe aim of this study is comparing gray matter alterations in SCZ pediatric patients with those suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) based on a systematic review and an activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis.MethodsA systematic literature search was performed in PubMed, Elsevier, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). A systematic review and an ALE meta-analysis were performed to quantitatively examine brain gray matter alterations.ResultsChildren and adolescents with schizophrenia had decreased gray matter volume (GMV) mainly in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), temporal cortex (such as the middle temporal gyrus and transverse temporal gyrus), and insula, while children and adolescents with OCD mainly had increased GMV in the PFC and the striatum (including the lentiform nucleus and caudate nucleus), and decreased GMV in the parietal cortex.ConclusionsOur results suggest that gray matter abnormalities in the PFC may indicate homogeneity between the two diseases. In children and adolescents, structural alterations in schizophrenia mainly involve the fronto-temporal and cortico-insula circuits, whereas those in OCD mainly involve the prefrontal-parietal and the prefrontal-striatal circuits.