Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Vocabulary Learning Benefits From Rem After Slow-Wave Sleep., Laura J Batterink, Carmen E Westerberg, Ken A Paller

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Memory reactivation during slow-wave sleep (SWS) influences the consolidation of recently acquired knowledge. This reactivation occurs spontaneously during sleep but can also be triggered by presenting learning-related cues, a technique known as targeted memory reactivation (TMR). Here we examined whether TMR can improve vocabulary learning. Participants learned the meanings of 60 novel words. Auditory cues for half the words were subsequently presented during SWS in an afternoon nap. Memory performance for cued versus uncued words did not differ at the group level but was systematically influenced by REM sleep duration. Participants who obtained relatively greater amounts of REM showed a …

Heterozygous De Novo Ubtf Gain-Of-Function Variant Is Associated With Neurodegeneration In Childhood., Simon Edvardson, Claudia M Nicolae, Pankaj B Agrawal, Cyril Mignot, Katelyn Payne, Asuri Narayan Prasad, Chitra Prasad, Laurie Sadler, Caroline Nava, Thomas E Mullen, Amber Begtrup, Berivan Baskin, Zöe Powis, Avraham Shaag, Boris Keren, George-Lucian Moldovan, Orly Elpeleg

Paediatrics Publications

Ribosomal RNA (rRNA) is transcribed from rDNA by RNA polymerase I (Pol I) to produce the 45S precursor of the 28S, 5.8S, and 18S rRNA components of the ribosome. Two transcription factors have been defined for Pol I in mammals, the selectivity factor SL1, and the upstream binding transcription factor (UBF), which interacts with the upstream control element to facilitate the assembly of the transcription initiation complex including SL1 and Pol I. In seven unrelated affected individuals, all suffering from developmental regression starting at 2.5-7 years, we identified a heterozygous variant, c.628G>A in UBTF, encoding p.Glu210Lys in UBF, which …

Representation Of Multiple Body Parts In The Missing-Hand Territory Of Congenital One-Handers., Avital Hahamy, Scott N Macdonald, Fiona Van Den Heiligenberg, Paullina Kieliba, Uzay Emir, Rafael Malach, Heidi Johansen-Berg, Peter Brugger, Jody C Culham, Tamar R Makin

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Individuals born without one hand (congenital one-handers) provide a unique model for understanding the relationship between focal reorganization in the sensorimotor cortex and everyday behavior. We previously reported that the missing hand's territory of one-handers becomes utilized by its cortical neighbor (residual arm representation), depending on residual arm usage in daily life to substitute for the missing hand's function [1, 2]. However, the repertoire of compensatory behaviors may involve utilization of other body parts that do not cortically neighbor the hand territory. Accordingly, the pattern of brain reorganization may be more extensive [3]. Here we studied unconstrained compensatory strategies under …

Sensory Processing In Autism Spectrum Disorders And Fragile X Syndrome-From The Clinic To Animal Models., D Sinclair, B Oranje, K A Razak, S J Siegel, S Schmid

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Brains are constantly flooded with sensory information that needs to be filtered at the pre-attentional level and integrated into endogenous activity in order to allow for detection of salient information and an appropriate behavioral response. People with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) are often over- or under-reactive to stimulation, leading to a wide range of behavioral symptoms. This altered sensitivity may be caused by disrupted sensory processing, signal integration and/or gating, and is often being neglected. Here, we review translational experimental approaches that are used to investigate sensory processing in humans with ASD and FXS, and …

Quantitative Assessment Of White Matter Injury In Preterm Neonates: Association With Outcomes., Ting Guo, Emma G Duerden, Elysia Adams, Vann Chau, Helen M Branson, M Mallar Chakravarty, Kenneth J Poskitt, Anne Synnes, Ruth E Grunau, Steven P Miller

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

OBJECTIVE: To quantitatively assess white matter injury (WMI) volume and location in very preterm neonates, and to examine the association of lesion volume and location with 18-month neurodevelopmental outcomes.

METHODS: Volume and location of WMI was quantified on MRI in 216 neonates (median gestational age 27.9 weeks) who had motor, cognitive, and language assessments at 18 months corrected age (CA). Neonates were scanned at 32.1 postmenstrual weeks (median) and 68 (31.5%) had WMI; of 66 survivors, 58 (87.9%) had MRI and 18-month outcomes. WMI was manually segmented and transformed into a common image space, accounting for intersubject anatomical variability. Probability …

Mosaic Expression Of Atrx In The Mouse Central Nervous System Causes Memory Deficits, Renee J Tamming, Jennifer R Siu, Yan Jiang, Marco A M Prado, Frank Beier, Nathalie G Bérubé

Paediatrics Publications

The rapid modulation of chromatin organization is thought to play a crucial role in cognitive processes such as memory consolidation. This is supported in part by the dysregulation of many chromatin-remodelling proteins in neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders. A key example is ATRX, an X-linked gene commonly mutated in individuals with syndromic and nonsyndromic intellectual disability. The consequences of Atrx inactivation for learning and memory have been difficult to evaluate because of the early lethality of hemizygous-null animals. In this study, we evaluated the outcome of brain-specific Atrx deletion in heterozygous female mice. These mice exhibit a mosaic pattern of ATRX …

Desynchronization Of Autonomic Response And Central Autonomic Network Connectivity In Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Janine Thome, Maria Densmore, Paul A Frewen, Margaret C Mckinnon, Jean Théberge, Andrew A Nicholson, Julian Koenig, Julian F Thayer, Ruth A Lanius

Department of Medicine Publications

OBJECTIVES: Although dysfunctional emotion regulatory capacities are increasingly recognized as contributing to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), little work has sought to identify biological markers of this vulnerability. Heart rate variability (HRV) is a promising biomarker that, together with neuroimaging, may assist in gaining a deeper understanding of emotion dysregulation in PTSD. The objective of the present study was, therefore, to characterize autonomic response patterns, and their related neuronal patterns in individuals with PTSD at rest.

METHODS: PTSD patients (N = 57) and healthy controls (N = 41) underwent resting-state fMRI. Connectivity patterns of key regions within the central autonomic network …

Measuring Brain Serine With Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy At 3.0 Tesla, Homa Javadzadeh

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) non-invasively measures regional human brain chemistry in vivo, providing concentration estimates for several metabolites in a pre-selected region of interest. MRS has been applied to investigations of disease-related metabolic and neurochemical alterations in schizophrenia since the early 90’s.

The objective of this research is to implement a metabolite-selective MRS method to quantify endogenous concentrations of human brain serine. Serine is a naturally-occurring amino acid and an important co-modulator of the N-Methyl D-aspartic Acid (NMDA) glutamate receptor. Glutamate abnormalities have been implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, especially its so-called negative and cognitive symptoms, which can …

Resting-State Network-Specific Breakdown Of Functional Connectivity During Ketamine Alteration Of Consciousness In Volunteers., Vincent Bonhomme, Audrey Vanhaudenhuyse, Athena Demertzi, Marie-Aurélie Bruno, Oceane Jaquet, Mohamed Ali Bahri, Alain Plenevaux, Melanie Boly, Pierre Boveroux, Andrea Soddu, Jean François Brichant, Pierre Maquet, Steven Laureys

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

BACKGROUND: Consciousness-altering anesthetic agents disturb connectivity between brain regions composing the resting-state consciousness networks (RSNs). The default mode network (DMn), executive control network, salience network (SALn), auditory network, sensorimotor network (SMn), and visual network sustain mentation. Ketamine modifies consciousness differently from other agents, producing psychedelic dreaming and no apparent interaction with the environment. The authors used functional magnetic resonance imaging to explore ketamine-induced changes in RSNs connectivity.

METHODS: Fourteen healthy volunteers received stepwise intravenous infusions of ketamine up to loss of responsiveness. Because of agitation, data from six subjects were excluded from analysis. RSNs connectivity was compared between absence of …

Generation Of Organ-Conditioned Media And Applications For Studying Organ-Specific Influences On Breast Cancer Metastatic Behavior, Matthew M. Piaseczny, Graciella M. Pio, Jenny E. Chu, Ying Xia, Kim Nguyen, David Goodale, Alison Allan

Anatomy and Cell Biology Publications

Breast cancer preferentially metastasizes to the lymph node, bone, lung, brain and liver in breast cancer patients. Previous research efforts have focused on identifying factors inherent to breast cancer cells that are responsible for this observed metastatic pattern (termed organ tropism), however much less is known about factors present within specific organs that contribute to this process. This is in part because of a lack of in vitro model systems that accurately recapitulate the organ microenvironment. To address this, an ex vivo model system has been established that allows for the study of soluble factors present within different organ microenvironments. …

Propofol-Induced Frontal Cortex Disconnection: A Study Of Resting-State Networks, Total Brain Connectivity, And Mean Bold Signal Oscillation Frequencies., Pieter Guldenmund, Ithabi S Gantner, Katherine Baquero, Tushar Das, Athena Demertzi, Pierre Boveroux, Vincent Bonhomme, Audrey Vanhaudenhuyse, Marie-Aurélie Bruno, Olivia Gosseries, Quentin Noirhomme, Muriëlle Kirsch, Mélanie Boly, Adrian M Owen, Steven Laureys, Francisco Gómez, Andrea Soddu

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Propofol is one of the most commonly used anesthetics in the world, but much remains unknown about the mechanisms by which it induces loss of consciousness. In this resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study, we examined qualitative and quantitative changes of resting-state networks (RSNs), total brain connectivity, and mean oscillation frequencies of the regional blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) signal, associated with propofol-induced mild sedation and loss of responsiveness in healthy subjects. We found that detectability of RSNs diminished significantly with loss of responsiveness, and total brain connectivity decreased strongly in the frontal cortex, which was associated with increased mean oscillation …

Sensory Plasticity In Human Motor Learning., David J Ostry, Paul L Gribble

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

There is accumulating evidence from behavioral, neurophysiological, and neuroimaging studies that the acquisition of motor skills involves both perceptual and motor learning. Perceptual learning alters movements, motor learning, and motor networks of the brain. Motor learning changes perceptual function and the sensory circuits of the brain. Here, we review studies of both human limb movement and speech that indicate that plasticity in sensory and motor systems is reciprocally linked. Taken together, this points to an approach to motor learning in which perceptual learning and sensory plasticity have a fundamental role.

A Selective Impairment Of Perception Of Sound Motion Direction In Peripheral Space: A Case Study., Lore Thaler, Joseph Paciocco, Mark Daley, Gabriella D Lesniak, David W Purcell, J Alexander Fraser, Gordon N Dutton, Stephanie Rossit, Melvyn A Goodale, Jody C Culham

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

It is still an open question if the auditory system, similar to the visual system, processes auditory motion independently from other aspects of spatial hearing, such as static location. Here, we report psychophysical data from a patient (female, 42 and 44 years old at the time of two testing sessions), who suffered a bilateral occipital infarction over 12 years earlier, and who has extensive damage in the occipital lobe bilaterally, extending into inferior posterior temporal cortex bilaterally and into right parietal cortex. We measured the patient's spatial hearing ability to discriminate static location, detect motion and perceive motion direction in …

Correlation Between Resting State Fmri Total Neuronal Activity And Pet Metabolism In Healthy Controls And Patients With Disorders Of Consciousness., Andrea Soddu, Francisco Gómez, Lizette Heine, Carol Di Perri, Mohamed Ali Bahri, Henning U Voss, Marie-Aurélie Bruno, Audrey Vanhaudenhuyse, Christophe Phillips, Athena Demertzi, Camille Chatelle, Jessica Schrouff, Aurore Thibaut, Vanessa Charland-Verville, Quentin Noirhomme, Eric Salmon, Jean-Flory Luaba Tshibanda, Nicholas D Schiff, Steven Laureys

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

INTRODUCTION: The mildly invasive 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) is a well-established imaging technique to measure 'resting state' cerebral metabolism. This technique made it possible to assess changes in metabolic activity in clinical applications, such as the study of severe brain injury and disorders of consciousness.

OBJECTIVE: We assessed the possibility of creating functional MRI activity maps, which could estimate the relative levels of activity in FDG-PET cerebral metabolic maps. If no metabolic absolute measures can be extracted, our approach may still be of clinical use in centers without access to FDG-PET. It also overcomes the problem of recognizing individual …

Dual Optimization Method Of Radiofrequency And Quasistatic Field Simulations For Reduction Of Eddy Currents Generated On 7t Radiofrequency Coil Shielding., Yujuan Zhao, Tiejun Zhao, Shailesh B Raval, Narayanan Krishnamurthy, Hai Zheng, Chad T Harris, William B Handler, Blaine A Chronik, Tamer S Ibrahim

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

PURPOSE: To optimize the design of radiofrequency (RF) shielding of transmit coils at 7T and reduce eddy currents generated on the RF shielding when imaging with rapid gradient waveforms.

METHODS: One set of a four-element, 2 × 2 Tic-Tac-Toe head coil structure was selected and constructed to study eddy currents on the RF coil shielding. The generated eddy currents were quantitatively studied in the time and frequency domains. The RF characteristics were studied using the finite difference time domain method. Five different kinds of RF shielding were tested on a 7T MRI scanner with phantoms and in vivo human subjects. …

Behavioral, Perceptual, And Neural Alterations In Sensory And Multisensory Function In Autism Spectrum Disorder., Sarah H Baum, Ryan A Stevenson, Mark T Wallace

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Although sensory processing challenges have been noted since the first clinical descriptions of autism, it has taken until the release of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) in 2013 for sensory problems to be included as part of the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the diagnostic profile. Because sensory information forms the building blocks for higher-order social and cognitive functions, we argue that sensory processing is not only an additional piece of the puzzle, but rather a critical cornerstone for characterizing and understanding ASD. In this review we discuss what …

Brain Maturation, Poverty And Social Exclusion: Shifting Paradigms Of Psychopathology, Amresh Srivastava

Psychiatry Presentations

Abstract for lecture

Poverty is a major risk factor for mental disorders. Neuroimaging studies show path are breaking findings to explain why ppeople living in poverty suffer from improper development and maturation of brain due to neuronal loss. It sets in much before the child is born and leads to increased vulnerability for mental disorders.

Recent findings show that changes in brain structure and function due to lack of brain maturation is directly related to poverty. A number of these changes are end result of neuronal survival in the most fundamental neuronal matrix. These findings along with other biological correlates …

Simulated Diabetic Ketoacidosis Therapy In Vitro Elicits Brain Cell Swelling Via Sodium-Hydrogen Exchange And Anion Transport., Keeley L Rose, Andrew J Watson, Thomas A Drysdale, Gediminas Cepinskas, Melissa Chan, C Anthony Rupar, Douglas D Fraser

Obstetrics & Gynaecology Publications

A common complication of type 1 diabetes mellitus is diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a state of severe insulin deficiency. A potentially harmful consequence of DKA therapy in children is cerebral edema (DKA-CE); however, the mechanisms of therapy-induced DKA-CE are unknown. Our aims were to identify the DKA treatment factors and membrane mechanisms that might contribute specifically to brain cell swelling. To this end, DKA was induced in juvenile mice with the administration of the pancreatic toxins streptozocin and alloxan. Brain slices were prepared and exposed to DKA-like conditions in vitro. Cell volume changes were imaged in response to simulated DKA therapy. …

Tract-Based Spatial Statistics In Preterm-Born Neonates Predicts Cognitive And Motor Outcomes At 18 Months., E G Duerden, J Foong, V Chau, H Branson, K J Poskitt, R E Grunau, A Synnes, J G Zwicker, S P Miller

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Adverse neurodevelopmental outcome is common in children born preterm. Early sensitive predictors of neurodevelopmental outcome such as MR imaging are needed. Tract-based spatial statistics, a diffusion MR imaging analysis method, performed at term-equivalent age (40 weeks) is a promising predictor of neurodevelopmental outcomes in children born very preterm. We sought to determine the association of tract-based spatial statistics findings before term-equivalent age with neurodevelopmental outcome at 18-months corrected age.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Of 180 neonates (born at 24-32-weeks' gestation) enrolled, 153 had DTI acquired early at 32 weeks' postmenstrual age and 105 had DTI acquired later at …

Changes In Visual And Sensory-Motor Resting-State Functional Connectivity Support Motor Learning By Observing., Heather R Mcgregor, Paul L Gribble

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Motor learning occurs not only through direct first-hand experience but also through observation (Mattar AA, Gribble PL. Neuron 46: 153-160, 2005). When observing the actions of others, we activate many of the same brain regions involved in performing those actions ourselves (Malfait N, Valyear KF, Culham JC, Anton JL, Brown LE, Gribble PL. J Cogn Neurosci 22: 1493-1503, 2010). Links between neural systems for vision and action have been reported in neurophysiological (Strafella AP, Paus T. Neuroreport 11: 2289-2292, 2000; Watkins KE, Strafella AP, Paus T. Neuropsychologia 41: 989-994, 2003), brain imaging (Buccino G, Binkofski F, Fink GR, Fadiga L, …

Fusion Analysis Of Functional Mri Data For Classification Of Individuals Based On Patterns Of Activation., Mahdi Ramezani, Purang Abolmaesumi, Kris Marble, Heather Trang, Ingrid Johnsrude

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Classification of individuals based on patterns of brain activity observed in functional MRI contrasts may be helpful for diagnosis of neurological disorders. Prior work for classification based on these patterns have primarily focused on using a single contrast, which does not take advantage of complementary information that may be available in multiple contrasts. Where multiple contrasts are used, the objective has been only to identify the joint, distinct brain activity patterns that differ between groups of subjects; not to use the information to classify individuals. Here, we use joint Independent Component Analysis (jICA) within a Support Vector Machine (SVM) classification …

Motor Skill Learning Between Selection And Execution., Jörn Diedrichsen, Katja Kornysheva

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Learning motor skills evolves from the effortful selection of single movement elements to their combined fast and accurate production. We review recent trends in the study of skill learning which suggest a hierarchical organization of the representations that underlie such expert performance, with premotor areas encoding short sequential movement elements (chunks) or particular component features (timing/spatial organization). This hierarchical representation allows the system to utilize elements of well-learned skills in a flexible manner. One neural correlate of skill development is the emergence of specialized neural circuits that can produce the required elements in a stable and invariant fashion. We discuss …

Fusion Analysis Of First Episode Depression: Where Brain Shape Deformations Meet Local Composition Of Tissue., Mahdi Ramezani, Purang Abolmaesumi, Amir Tahmasebi, Rachael Bosma, Ryan Tong, Tom Hollenstein, Kate Harkness, Ingrid Johnsrude

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Computational neuroanatomical techniques that are used to evaluate the structural correlates of disorders in the brain typically measure regional differences in gray matter or white matter, or measure regional differences in the deformation fields required to warp individual datasets to a standard space. Our aim in this study was to combine measurements of regional tissue composition and of deformations in order to characterize a particular brain disorder (here, major depressive disorder). We use structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) data from young adults in a first episode of depression, and from an age- and sex-matched group of non-depressed individuals, and create …

Prolonged In Vivo Retention Of A Cathepsin D Targeted Optical Contrast Agent In A Mouse Model Of Alzheimer's Disease., Jonatan A Snir, Mojmir Suchy, Keith St Lawrence, Robert H E Hudson, Stephen H Pasternak, Robert Bartha

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

BACKGROUND: Cathepsin D (CatD) is a lysosomal protease that is elevated early in Alzheimer's disease (AD). We have previously developed a Targeted contrast agent (CA) to detect CatD activity in vivo, consisting of a magnetic resonance imaging/fluorescent moiety linked to a cell penetrating peptide (CPP) by means of a CatD cleavage site and have demonstrated its uptake in the brain of an AD mouse model.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to characterize the in vivo retention of a near infra-red fluorescent dye labeled version of this CA.

METHODS: Six adult C57Bl/6 wild-type mice and six adult 5XFAD transgenic …

Analysis Of Neonatal Brain Lacking Atrx Or Mecp2 Reveals Changes In Nucleosome Density, Ctcf Binding And Chromatin Looping, Kristin D Kernohan, Douglas Vernimmen, Gregory B Gloor, Nathalie G. Bérubé

Paediatrics Publications

ATRX and MeCP2 belong to an expanding group of chromatin-associated proteins implicated in human neurodevelopmental disorders, although their gene-regulatory activities are not fully resolved. Loss of ATRX prevents full repression of an imprinted gene network in the postnatal brain and in this study we address the mechanistic aspects of this regulation. We show that ATRX binds many imprinted domains individually but that transient co-localization between imprinted domains in the nuclei of neurons does not require ATRX. We demonstrate that MeCP2 is required for ATRX recruitment and that deficiency of either ATRX or MeCP2 causes decreased frequency of long-range chromatin interactions …

Gene Co-Citation Networks Associated With Worker Sterility In Honey Bees., Emma Kate Mullen, Mark Daley, Alanna Gabrielle Backx, Graham James Thompson

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

BACKGROUND: The evolution of reproductive self-sacrifice is well understood from kin theory, yet our understanding of how actual genes influence the expression of reproductive altruism is only beginning to take shape. As a model in the molecular study of social behaviour, the honey bee Apis mellifera has yielded hundreds of genes associated in their expression with differences in reproductive status of females, including genes directly associated with sterility, yet there has not been an attempt to link these candidates into functional networks that explain how workers regulate sterility in the presence of queen pheromone. In this study we use available …

The Impact Of Multisensory Integration Deficits On Speech Perception In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders., Ryan A Stevenson, Magali Segers, Susanne Ferber, Morgan D Barense, Mark T Wallace

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Speech perception is an inherently multisensory process. When having a face-to-face conversation, a listener not only hears what a speaker is saying, but also sees the articulatory gestures that accompany those sounds. Speech signals in visual and auditory modalities provide complementary information to the listener (Kavanagh and Mattingly, 1974), and when both are perceived in unison, behavioral gains in in speech perception are observed (Sumby and Pollack, 1954). Notably, this benefit is accentuated when speech is perceived in a noisy environment (Sumby and Pollack, 1954). To achieve a behavioral gain from multisensory processing of speech, however, the auditory and visual …

A Multivariate Method To Determine The Dimensionality Of Neural Representation From Population Activity., Jörn Diedrichsen, Tobias Wiestler, Naveed Ejaz

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

How do populations of neurons represent a variable of interest? The notion of feature spaces is a useful concept to approach this question: According to this model, the activation patterns across a neuronal population are composed of different pattern components. The strength of each of these components varies with one latent feature, which together are the dimensions along which the population represents the variable. Here we propose a new method to determine the number of feature dimensions that best describes the activation patterns. The method is based on Gaussian linear classifiers that use only the first d most important pattern …

The Human Brain Processes Syntax In The Absence Of Conscious Awareness., Laura Batterink, Helen J Neville

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Syntax is the core computational component of language. A longstanding idea about syntactic processing is that it is generally not available to conscious access, operating autonomously and automatically. However, there is little direct neurocognitive evidence on this issue. By measuring event-related potentials while human observers performed a novel cross-modal distraction task, we demonstrated that syntactic violations that were not consciously detected nonetheless produced a characteristic early neural response pattern, and also significantly delayed reaction times to a concurrent task. This early neural response was distinct from later neural activity that was observed only to syntactic violations that were consciously detected. …

Localization Of Pain-Related Brain Activation: A Meta-Analysis Of Neuroimaging Data, Emma G. Duerden, Marie Claire Albanese

Paediatrics Publications

A meta-analysis of 140 neuroimaging studies was performed using the activation-likelihood-estimate (ALE) method to explore the location and extent of activation in the brain in response to noxious stimuli in healthy volunteers. The first analysis involved the creation of a likelihood map illustrating brain activation common across studies using noxious stimuli. The left thalamus, right anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), bilateral anterior insulae, and left dorsal posterior insula had the highest likelihood of being activated. The second analysis contrasted noxious cold with noxious heat stimulation and revealed higher likelihood of activation to noxious cold in the subgenual ACC and the amygdala. …