Meta-analysis Of fMRI Studies Research Articles

Common neural deficits across reward functions in major depression: a meta-analysis of fMRI studies.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterized by deficient reward functions in the brain. However, existing findings on functional alterations during reward anticipation, reward processing, and learning among MDD patients are inconsistent, and it was unclear whether a common reward system implicated in multiple reward functions is altered in MDD. Here we meta-analyzed 18 past studies that compared brain reward functions between adult MDD patients (N = 477, mean age = 26.50 years, female = 59.40%) and healthy controls (N = 506, mean age = 28.11 years, females = 55.58%), and particularly examined group differences across multiple reward functions. Jack-knife sensitivity and subgroup meta-analyses were conducted to test robustness of findings across patient comorbidity, task paradigm, and reward nature. Meta-regression analyses assessed the moderating effect of patient symptom severity and anhedonia scores. We found during reward anticipation, MDD patients showed lower activities in the lateral prefrontal-thalamus circuitry. During reward processing, patients displayed reduced activities in the right striatum and prefrontal cortex, but increased activities in the left temporal cortex. During reward learning, patients showed reduced activity in the lateral prefrontal-thalamic-striatal circuitry and the right parahippocampal-occipital circuitry but higher activities in bilateral cerebellum and the left visual cortex. MDD patients showed decreased activity in the right thalamus during both reward anticipation and learning, and in the right caudate during both reward processing and learning. Larger functional changes in MDD were observed among patients with more severe symptoms and higher anhedonia levels. The thalamic-striatal circuitry functional alterations could be the key neural mechanism underlying MDD patients overarching reward function deficiencies.

Neural substrates underlying effortful control deficit in autism spectrum disorder: a meta-analysis of fMRI studies

Effortful control comprises attentional control, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility subprocesses. Effortful control is impaired in individuals with autism spectrum disorder, yet its neural underpinnings remain elusive. By conducting a coordinate-based meta-analysis, this study compared the brain activation patterns between autism and typically developing individuals and examined the effect of age on brain activation in each effortful control subprocesses. Meta-analytic results from 22 studies revealed that, individuals with autism showed hypoactivation in the default mode network for tasks tapping inhibitory control functioning (threshold-free cluster enhancement p < 0.001). When these individuals perform tasks tapping attentional control and cognitive flexibility, they exhibited aberrant activation in various brain networks including default mode network, dorsal attention, frontoparietal, visual and somatomotor networks (uncorrected ps < 0.005). Meta-regression analyses revealed that brain regions within the default mode network showed a significant decreasing trend in activation with increasing age (uncorrected p < 0.05). In summary, individuals with autism showed aberrant activation patterns across multiple brain functional networks during all cognitive tasks supporting effortful control, with some regions showing a decrease in activation with increasing age.

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.

P393. Emotion Regulation in Typically-Developing and Non-Typically-Developing Children and Adolescents: A Meta-Analysis of fMRI Studies

The ability to regulate emotions (ER) is critical for mental health. The neural mechanisms of ER undergo substantial developmental changes through adolescence. However, research on this has been limited. We aggregated across studies comparing explicit (direct instruction to regulate) vs. implicit (regulation is inferred) ER, and typically-developing vs. non-typically-developing youths.

Brain activation differences in lexical-semantics processing in autistic population: A meta-analysis of fMRI studies

Brain activation differences in lexical-semantics processing in autistic population: A meta-analysis of fMRI studies

Brain activations associated with anticipation and delivery of monetary reward: A systematic review and meta-analysis of fMRI studies.

While multiple studies have examined the brain functional correlates of reward, meta-analyses have either focused on studies using the monetary incentive delay (MID) task, or have adopted a broad strategy, combining data from studies using both monetary and non-monetary reward, as probed using a wide range of tasks. To meta-analyze fMRI studies that used monetary reward and in which there was a definable cue-reward contingency. Studies were limited to those using monetary reward in order to avoid potential heterogeneity from use of other rewards, especially social rewards. Studies using gambling or delay discounting tasks were excluded on the grounds that reward anticipation is not easily quantifiable. English-language fMRI studies (i) that reported fMRI findings on healthy adults; (ii) that used monetary reward; and (iii) in which a cue that was predictive of reward was compared to a no win (or lesser win) condition. Only voxel-based studies were included; those where brain coverage was incomplete were excluded. Ovid, Medline and PsycInfo, from 2000 to 2020, plus checking of review articles and meta-analyses. Data were pooled using Seed-based d Mapping with Permutation of Subject Images (SDM-PSI). Heterogeneity among studies was examined using the I2 statistic. Publication bias was examined using funnel plots and statistical examination of asymmetries. Moderator variables including whether the task was pre-learnt, sex distribution, amount of money won and width of smoothing kernel were examined. Pooled data from 45 studies of reward anticipation revealed activations in the ventral striatum, the middle cingulate cortex/supplementary motor area and the insula. Pooled data from 28 studies of reward delivery again revealed ventral striatal activation, plus cortical activations in the anterior and posterior cingulate cortex. There was relatively little evidence of publication bias. Among moderating variables, only whether the task was pre-learnt exerted an influence. According to this meta-analysis monetary reward anticipation and delivery both activate the ventral but not the dorsal striatum, and are associated with different patterns of cortical activation.

Effects of Chronic Pain Treatment on Altered Functional and Metabolic Activities in the Brain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Functional Neuroimaging Studies

Previous studies have identified altered brain changes in chronic pain patients, however, it remains unclear whether these changes are reversible. We summarized the neural and molecular changes in patients with chronic pain and employed a meta-analysis approach to quantify the changes. We included 75 studies and 11 of these 75 studies were included in the activation likelihood estimation (ALE) analysis. In the 62 functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies, the primary somatosensory and motor cortex (SI and MI), thalamus, insula, and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) showed significantly decreased activity after the treatments compared to baseline. In the 13 positron emission tomography (PET) studies, the SI, MI, thalamus, and insula showed significantly increased glucose uptake, blood flow, and opioid-receptor binding potentials after the treatments compared to baseline. A meta-analysis of fMRI studies in patients with chronic pain, during pain-related tasks, showed a significant deactivation likelihood cluster in the left medial posterior thalamus. Further studies are warranted to understand brain reorganization in patients with chronic pain compared to the normal state, in terms of its relationship with symptom reduction and baseline conditions.

Effect of Acupuncture on Neuroplasticity of Stroke Patients with Motor Dysfunction: A Meta-Analysis of fMRI Studies.

Objective To analyze the pattern of intrinsic brain activity variability that is altered by acupuncture compared with conventional treatment in stroke patients with motor dysfunction, thus providing the mechanism of stroke treatment by acupuncture. Methods Chinese and English articles published up to May 2020 were searched in the PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chongqing VIP, and Wanfang Database. We only included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) using resting-state fMRI to observe the effect of acupuncture on stroke patients with motor dysfunction. R software was used to analyze the continuous variables, and Seed-based d Mapping with Permutation of Subject Images (SDM-PSI) was used to perform an analysis of fMRI data. Findings. A total of 7 studies comprising 143 patients in the treatment group and 138 in the control group were included in the meta-analysis. The results suggest that acupuncture treatment helps the healing process of motor dysfunction in stroke patients and exhibits hyperactivation in the bilateral basal ganglia and insula and hypoactivation in motor-related areas (especially bilateral BA6 and left BA4). Conclusion Acupuncture plays a role in promoting neuroplasticity in subcortical regions that are commonly affected by stroke and cortical motor areas that may compensate for motor deficits, which may provide a possible mechanism underlying the therapeutic effect of acupuncture.

Precuneus and insular hypoactivation during cognitive processing in first-episode psychosis: Systematic review and meta-analysis of fMRI studies.

The neural correlates of the cognitive dysfunction in first-episode psychosis (FEP) are still unclear. The present review and meta-analysis provide an update of the location of the abnormalities in the fMRI-measured brain response to cognitive processes in individuals with FEP. Systematic review and voxel-based meta-analysis of cross-sectional fMRI studies comparing neural responses to cognitive tasks between individuals with FEP and healthy controls (HC) according to PRISMA guidelines. Twenty-six studies were included, comprising 598 individuals with FEP and 567 HC. Individual studies reported statistically significant hypoactivation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (6 studies), frontal lobe (8 studies), cingulate (6 studies) and insula (5 studies). The meta-analysis showed statistically significant hypoactivation in the left anterior insula, precuneus and bilateral striatum. While the studies tend to highlight frontal hypoactivation during cognitive tasks in FEP, our meta-analytic results show that the left precuneus and insula primarily display aberrant activation in FEP that may be associated with salience attribution to external stimuli and related to deficits in perception and regulation.

An integrative model of network activity during episodic memory retrieval and a meta-analysis of fMRI studies on source memory retrieval

Functional magnetic resonance imaging studies on episodic memory (EM) retrieval have used a variety of paradigms/contrasts to yield many diverse findings, which raises the need for an integrative multifactorial view. To address this need, I begin by proposing a fourstage, quasi-sequential model of network activity during episodic remembering, termed “the Retrieval, Experience, and Decision (RED) model.” The model combines EM-retrieval macro-functions (retrieval effort, retrieval, subjective experience of remembering, and decision effort), macro-structures (frontoparietal control network, default mode network, and medial temporal lobe) and essential experimental factors (encoding strength, retrieval specificity, retrieval confidence, and pretrial expectation) into a broad, unified frame of reference. Next, to evaluate the validity of the model, I formulate four multifactorial predictions aimed at three distinct types of source-memory contrast (source-hit > source-miss, source-hit > item-hit, and source-hit > correct-rejection), and test them using a meta-analytic method. The results of the meta-analyses are largely consistent with the predictions, supporting the RED. In conclusion, the RED provides an overarching framework that configures coherently with many representative findings in the literature, thereby offering a useful foundation capable of guiding further research efforts on related topics.

Shared and distinct functional networks for empathy and pain processing: a systematic review and meta-analysis of fMRI studies.

BackgroundEmpathy for pain is a complex phenomenon incorporating sensory, cognitive and affective processes. Functional neuroimaging studies indicate a rich network of brain activations for empathic processing. However, previous research focused on core activations in bilateral anterior insula (AI) and anterior cingulate/anterior midcingulate cortex (ACC/aMCC) which are also typically present during nociceptive (pain) processing. Theoretical understanding of empathy would benefit from empirical investigation of shared and contrasting brain activations for empathic and nociceptive processing.MethodThirty-nine empathy for observed pain studies (1112 participants; 527 foci) were selected by systematic review. Coordinate based meta-analysis (activation likelihood estimation) was performed and novel contrast analyses compared neurobiological processing of empathy with a comprehensive meta-analysis of 180 studies of nociceptive processing (Tanasescu et al., 2016).ResultsConjunction analysis indicated overlapping activations for empathy and nociception in AI, aMCC, somatosensory and inferior frontal regions. Contrast analysis revealed increased likelihood of activation for empathy, relative to nociception, in bilateral supramarginal, inferior frontal and occipitotemporal regions. Nociception preferentially activated bilateral posterior insula, somatosensory cortex and aMCC.ConclusionOur findings support the likelihood of shared and distinct neural networks for empathic, relative to nociceptive, processing. This offers succinct empirical support for recent tiered or modular theoretical accounts of empathy.

Executive Function in High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Meta-analysis of fMRI Studies.

Abnormalities in executive function (EF) are clinical markers for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, the neural mechanisms underlying abnormal EF in ASD remain unclear. This meta-analysis investigated the construct, abnormalities, and age-related changes of EF in ASD. Thirty-three fMRI studies of inhibition, updating, and switching in individuals with high-functioning ASD were included (n = 1114; age range 7-57years). The results revealed that the EF construct in ASD could be unitary (i.e., common EF) in children/adolescents, but unitary and diverse (i.e., common EF and inhibition) in adults. Abnormalities in this EF construct were found across development in individuals with ASD in comparison with typically developing individuals. Implications and recommendations are discussed for EF theory and for practice in ASD.

Neural substrates of smoking and reward cue reactivity in smokers: a meta-analysis of fMRI studies

Smoking is partly attributed to alterations of reward processing. However, findings on the neurobiological mechanisms that underlie smoking-related and smoking-unrelated reward processing in smokers have been inconsistent. Neuroimaging experiments that used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and reported brain responses to smoking-related cues and nonsmoking reward-related cues in smokers and healthy controls as coordinates in a standard anatomic reference space were identified by searching the PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases up to December 2018. Three meta-analyses were performed using random-effect nonparametric statistics with Seed-based d Mapping software, with brain activity contrast from individual studies as the input. The striatum showed higher activation in response to smoking-related cues compared with neutral cues in 816 smokers from 28 studies and lower activation in response to nonsmoking reward-related cues in 275 smokers compared with 271 healthy control individuals from 13 studies. The relative reactivity of the putamen to smoking-related cues increased in 108 smokers compared with 107 healthy controls from seven studies. Meta-regression showed that smokers with a greater severity of nicotine dependence exhibited less engagement of the striatum in response to both smoking-related cues and nonsmoking reward-related cues. The present results reveal the disruption of reward system function in smokers and provide new insights into diverging theories of addiction. With the escalation of nicotine dependence, nicotine appears to exert dynamic effects on reward processing, based on incentive sensitization theory and reward deficiency syndrome theory.

Sex-Dependent Associations among Maternal Depressive Symptoms, Child Reward Network, and Behaviors in Early Childhood.

Maternal depression is associated with disrupted neurodevelopment in offspring. This study examined relationships among postnatal maternal depressive symptoms, the functional reward network and behavioral problems in 4.5-year-old boys (57) and girls (65). We employed canonical correlation analysis to evaluate whether the resting-state functional connectivity within a reward network, identified through an activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis of fMRI studies, was associated with postnatal maternal depressive symptoms and child behaviors. The functional reward network consisted of three subnetworks, that is, the mesolimbic, mesocortical, and amygdala-hippocampus reward subnetworks. Postnatal maternal depressive symptoms were associated with the functional connectivity of the mesocortical subnetwork with the mesolimbic and amygdala-hippocampus complex subnetworks in girls and with the functional connectivity within the mesocortical subnetwork in boys. The functional connectivity of the amygdala-hippocampus subnetwork with the mesocortical and mesolimbic subnetworks was associated with both internalizing and externalizing problems in girls, while in boys, the functional connectivity of the mesocortical subnetwork with the amygdala-hippocampus complex and the mesolimbic subnetworks was associated with the internalizing and externalizing problems, respectively. Our findings suggest that the functional reward network might be a promising neural phenotype for effects of maternal depression and potential intervention to nurture child behavioral development.

T17. Are Emotional Regulation and Extinction Learning the Same in the Brain? A Meta-Analysis of fMRI Studies

T17. Are Emotional Regulation and Extinction Learning the Same in the Brain? A Meta-Analysis of fMRI Studies

Are emotional regulation and extinction training the same in the brain? A meta-analysis of fMRI studies

Metal-doping is widely used to enhance charge generation and reduce carrier recombination of BiVO4 for catalyzing water oxidation. In this work, different Mo-doping levels are applied to synthesize Mo-doped BiVO4 (MBVO) on conductive glasses. Molybdenum plays multiple roles of dopant, structure-confined mediator, and sources for forming additional semiconductor. The MBVO with lower Mo-doping levels presents bi-layered structure with nanowire overlayer and nanorod underlayer, which can develop facile one-dimensional charge-transfer paths and efficient heterojunction. With preferable design of nanowire and nanorod layers, the high light absorption, small charge-transfer resistance and high carrier density are attained for MBVO with 1% Mo-doping, which shows the highest photocurrent density of 2.5 mA/cm2 at 1.23 VRHE, smallest onset potential of 0.22 VRHE and highest maximum photoconversion efficiency of 2.20%. This work carefully illustrates the function of molybdenum and firstly constructs the unique bi-layered structure for MBVO to display outstanding photoelectrochemical performance for catalyzing water oxidation.

S20. Error-Processing in OCD: A Meta-Analysis of fMRI Studies and Investigation of Changes Following CBT

S20. Error-Processing in OCD: A Meta-Analysis of fMRI Studies and Investigation of Changes Following CBT

S71. ABERRANT TIMING AND SALIENCE NETWORK IN SCHIZOPHRENIA: FINDINGS FROM A META-ANALYSIS

BackgroundSchizophrenia (SZ) affects several domains of cognitive function. Abnormal time and novelty processing, which is related to change detection, has been reported in this disorder. Timing and oddball tasks can be used to assess change detection in perceptual processes. We hypothesize that an impaired timing network underlies disruptive cognitive functioning in SZ, such as saliency detection. Therefore, timing dysfunction might be a primary cognitive deficit in this disorder.To address this issue, our aim was to elucidate the neural areas underlying target detection and timing in SZ, as well as to determine whether the timing dysfunctional activity pattern showed by SZ patients matches the pattern involved in attention salience processing. The final purpose of our study was to identify the brain structures activated during both timing and oddball tasks in patients with SZ, as compared to healthy controls (HC).MethodsWe conducted two independent comprehensive literature searches of whole-brain functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies that compared patients with SZ and HC using oddball and timing tasks. The searches were conducted with PubMed engine up to November 2017. Keywords used in the first search were: “schizophrenia” plus “functional magnetic resonance imaging” or “fMRI” plus “timing” or “time perception” or “time estimation”. In the second search keywords used were: “schizophrenia” plus “functional magnetic resonance imaging” or “fMRI” plus “event-related”, plus “oddball”.We excluded studies that 1) used a region-of-interest approach; 2) did not report peak coordinates for the relevant contrast; 3) used different statistical thresholds in different regions of the brain; 4) used techniques other than fMRI; 5) were based on Independent Component Analysis; 6) were case reports, qualitative studies, reviews or meta-analyses.We ran two independent signed differential mapping (SDM) meta-analyses of fMRI studies conducting comparisons between HC and patients with SZ: one reporting brain activation patterns during an oddball task, and a second one using timing tasks. We carried out a final multimodal meta-analysis to combine the findings from the two previous SDM meta-analyses. The aim of this multimodal analysis was to detect brain regions that are activated or deactivated by both timing and oddball tasks in SZ.ResultsOur initial search returned 173 papers, but application of inclusion criteria reduced this number to 8. Among them, 3 studied timing (which included a total of 53 SZ patients and 60 HC) and 5 examined oddball paradigm (which included a total of 100 SZ patients and 122 HC).Relative to HC, patients with SZ showed significantly hypoactivation in right striatum, right middle frontal gyrus (BA 9 and 45), and right median cingulate / paracingulate gyri (BA 32) during timing tasks. For oddball tasks, even if they showed significantly decreased activation in right inferior parietal gyri (BA 40) and corpus callosum, they also exhibited hyperactivation or failure of deactivation in left superior frontal gyrus, and dorsolateral (BA 9). Finally, overlapping was found in regions that were hypoactivated and hyperactivated by oddball tasks in SZ patients relative to HC.DiscussionOur results show that there is a common dysfunctional participation of frontal, cingulate, striatum, and parietal regions in SZ during both timing and oddball tasks. These findings suggest that a deficient timing network underlies attentional salience. However, these results are preliminary and further studies may be conducted to address the specific role of timing on cognition.

Brain Activity in Mindfulness Depends on Experience: a Meta-Analysis of fMRI Studies

Mindfulness and mindful meditation have become widely used approaches in clinical psychology. The growing use of these techniques has increased demand in research examining the foundations of mindfulness and its treatment efficacy. In particular, understanding the neurological mechanisms associated with mindfulness practice is an important area of research. To better understand these mechanisms, this meta-analytic study examines brain activity associated with practicing mindful meditation. Further, we examined the influence of experience on neural correlates by analyzing studies utilizing naive participants separately from studies examining experienced meditators. Literature review was used to identify studies examining mindful mediation using fMRI. Twenty-one studies were selected, with a total of 22 contrasts. Eleven contrasts used novice participants and 12 used experienced participants. Using activation likelihood estimate methods, we found that, across all contrasts, foci of consistent activity related to mindful meditation were found in the frontal regions, anterior cingulate, and insula. In contrasts utilizing novice participants, a focus was found in the insula. Foci in the medial frontal gyrus and globus pallidus were observed in the experienced participant contrasts. These findings are consistent with the literature on cognitive and motor skill learning and support the idea that mindfulness is a learnable skill.

Negative priming: a meta-analysis of fMRI studies.

A phenomenon termed negative priming is defined as an increase in reaction time and/or decrease in performance during instances in which current target stimuli are employed as distractor stimuli in the previous trial. A recent qualitative review on negative priming reported neural regions of interest underlined by activity within the right middle frontal gyrus and left middle temporal gyrus; however, these areas of interest have not been tested and supported by using coordinate-based, quantitative meta-analysis. We compiled functional magnetic resonance imaging studies that examined neural correlates of priming tasks using perceptual, conceptual and lexical primes. Effect-size signed differential mapping was used to perform a neuroimaging meta-analysis on the negative priming effect. Results from fourteen studies (245 participants; 85 foci) show concordance across studies in the right middle frontal gyrus and the left superior temporal gyrus, as suggested by the previous review; however, results also yielded concordance within the anterior cingulate cortex. Our data support the extant hypothesis and offer new insights into the neural mechanisms of the negative priming effect.