~(18)F-FDG PET显像观察特发性快眼动睡眠期行为障碍患者脑葡萄糖代谢特点的研究

目的探讨~(18)F-FDG PET显像观察特发性快眼动睡眠期行为障碍(iRBD)患者脑葡萄糖代谢改变和iRBD脑葡萄糖代谢改变与病程间的相关性。方法纳入多导睡眠监测(PSG)确诊的iRBD患者20例(iRBD组)和年龄、性别匹配的健康对照者19例(对照组)。两组均行~(18)F-FDG PET脑显像。基于自动解剖标记模板将大脑划分为90个左右对称的脑区,计算各脑区葡萄糖代谢半定量值。对iRBD组和对照组各脑区葡萄糖代谢半定量值进行独立样本t检验;并对iRBD组脑葡萄糖代谢改变与病程行Pearson相关分析。结果 (1)与对照组比较,iRBD组的双侧背外侧额上回、双侧眶部额上回、双侧眶部额中回、双侧海马、双侧海马旁回、双侧杏仁核、左侧眶部额下回、左侧岛叶、左侧内侧与旁扣带脑回、左侧中央旁小叶、左侧苍白球的葡萄糖代谢半定量值均增高(P0.05);双侧距状裂周围皮质、双侧楔叶、双侧舌回、双侧枕上回、双侧枕中回、双侧枕下回、双侧角回、双侧颞上回、双侧颞中回、右侧颞横回的葡萄糖代谢半定量值均降低(P0.05)。Pearson相关分析结果,iRBD组双侧杏仁核、双侧颞上回、右侧楔叶、右侧枕上回、右侧颞横回、左侧海马、左侧颞中回的葡萄糖代谢半定量值与病程呈正相关(P0.05);而双侧眶部额上回、双侧眶部额中回、左侧中央旁小叶、左侧眶部额下回、左侧内侧和旁扣带回、右侧背外侧额上回、右侧海马旁回的葡萄糖代谢半定量值与病程呈负相关(P0.05)。结论 iRBD患者脑内存在疾病相关的葡萄糖代谢水平改变,有助于客观评估iRBD病情的变化。     

有先兆偏头痛患者发作间期的静息态功能磁共振变化

目的采用静息态功能磁共振成像技术探讨有先兆偏头痛患者的自发神经元活动,分析其脑功能网络的变化,以便更好地认识有先兆偏头痛的发病机制。方法对7例发作间期有先兆偏头痛患者和7例年龄、性别及受教育程度相匹配的健康对照行静息态功能磁共振成像扫描,分析原始数据,得出全脑低频振幅(ALFF),进行双样本t检验,并以ALFF差异脑区为感兴趣区(ROI)校正后行功能连接(FC)分析,比较两组之间影像学表现的差异。结果病例组双侧额上回、左侧眶额皮质低频振幅值显著高于对照组(t=2.18~5.12,P0.05)。病例组左侧颞中回、左侧颞下回、左侧尾状核、双侧丘脑、右侧运动前区低频振幅ALFF值显著低于对照组(t=-5.12~-2.18,P0.05);与对照组相比,病例组右侧眶额皮质、左侧额中回、双侧前扣带皮质、右侧缘上回与左侧额上回功能连接增强,病例组左侧小脑、右侧脑岛、脑干与左侧额上回之间的功能连接减弱。结论有先兆偏头痛患者头痛发作间期疼痛处理相关脑区功能异常,支持偏头痛并非单纯的发作性疾病。     

男性酒依赖患者戒断期静息态功能磁共振低频振幅研究

目的探讨男性酒依赖患者戒断期静息态下脑区神经元自发活动改变及其与认知功能关系。方法对23例男性酒依赖患者和20名健康成年男性进行脑静息态功能磁共振扫描,比较其全脑各脑区低频振幅(amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation,ALFF),并用简易精神状态量表(mini mental status scale,MMSE)、语言流畅性测验(verbal fluency test,VFT)、数字广度测验(digit span test,DST)、霍普金斯词语学习修订版(Hopkins verbal learning test revised,HVLT-R)及连线测试B(trail making test-B,TMT-B)分别评估两组认知功能。结果酒依赖组与对照组相比ALFF减弱脑区为左侧额上回(t=-4.49,P0.01)、右侧额中回(t=-3.55,P0.01)、右侧颞上回(t=-5.36,P0.01)、左侧前扣带回(t=-5.41,P0.01);ALFF增强的脑区有左侧枕叶(t=3.90,P0.01)、左侧小脑后叶(t=3.58,P0.01)。神经心理测评中,酒依赖组MMSE(t=-4.33,P0.01)、VFT(t=-2.86,P0.01)、DST(t=-4.93,P0.01)和HVLT-R(t=-5.16,P0.01)评分均低于对照组;TMT-B完成时间高于对照组(t=4.67,P0.01)。酒依赖患者右侧额中回ALFF值与VFT评分呈正相关(r=0.49,P=0.04)。结论男性酒依赖患者戒断期在静息态下存在双侧额叶、右侧颞叶、左侧前扣带回、左侧枕叶、左侧小脑脑区功能活动异常,且右侧额叶脑区功能活动改变与语言功能异常有相关性。     

嗅觉刺激偏头痛患者的脑功能磁共振成像初步研究

目的观察偏头痛患者在嗅觉刺激下的脑功能磁共振成像(fMRI)变化, 分析其嗅觉相关脑网络特征。方法收集2021 年 1 月至 2022 年 1 月在川北医学院附属医院神经内科门诊确诊的27例偏头痛患者, 同期招募20名健康成年人作为对照组。收集所有受试者的人口学和临床特征资料。对所有受试者在嗅觉任务刺激下行同步fMRI扫描, 使用SPM12、Matlab2019b软件进行磁共振图像数据处理, 并结合SPSS 23.0软件进行统计学分析。结果对照组激活脑区包括左侧小脑、左侧颞下回、左侧梭状回、右侧额中回、右侧中央前回、脑岛、右侧中央沟盖、缘上回、右侧豆状壳核、中扣带回、中央旁小叶、顶上回(P<0.05)。偏头痛组激活脑区包括左侧小脑、右侧梭状回、右侧颞下回、右侧中央前回、右侧中央后回(P<0.05)。两组相比, 偏头痛组在右侧岛叶、右侧额中回眶部、左侧额下回眶部、右侧背外侧额上回、右侧颞上回、右侧枕上回、内侧和旁扣带脑回、右侧顶上回的激活强度弱于对照组(P<0.05)。结论偏头痛患者有多个脑区参与嗅觉处理, 存在特殊性的嗅觉相关脑网络。     

首次发病且未用药的成年早发和晚发抑郁症患者脑功能连接差异研究

目的比较成年早发抑郁症(EOD)和成年晚发抑郁症(LOD)患者默认网络(DMN)内部功能连接的差异,探究不同发病年龄的抑郁症患者是否有不同的发病机制。方法选取在昆明医科大学第一附属医院精神科门诊或住院的EOD患者(n=58)和LOD患者(n=62)为研究对象,同期招募年轻健康对照组(n=60)和年老健康对照组(n=52)。对受试者进行静息态功能磁共振扫描,选择左侧楔前叶为种子点,计算该种子点与全脑的功能连接,并比较各组间该种子点的功能连接差异。结果四组之间功能连接具有差异的脑区涉及双侧额叶、颞叶、基底节、枕叶、顶叶及小脑等脑区。EOD组左侧楔前叶与左侧小脑Crus1区、左侧小脑IX区、左侧颞中回、右侧楔前叶、右侧前扣带回、右侧额中回、右侧角回、右侧脑岛、右侧内侧额上回、右侧颞中回的功能连接均高于年轻健康对照组(Z=3. 752 4～5. 867 8,P均0. 05);而左侧楔前叶与左侧额中回、左侧中央旁小叶、右侧缘上回、右侧额上回、右侧颞下回、右侧中央后回、右侧中央前回、右侧枕上回的功能连接均低于年轻健康对照组(Z=-5. 007 6～-3. 797 7,P均0. 05)。LOD组左侧楔前叶与左侧小脑Crus2区、左侧尾状核、左侧颞下回、左侧小脑Crus1区、左侧角回、左侧额中回、右侧额中回、右侧角回、右侧眶额部额中回的功能连接均高于年老健康对照组(Z=4. 122 8～6. 579 4,P均0. 05);与左侧海马旁回、左侧额上回、右侧枕中回、右侧中央前回、右侧内侧额上回、右侧锯状回、右侧颞下回、右侧中央旁小叶、右侧梭状回、右侧后扣带回的功能连接均低于年老健康对照组(Z=-5. 884 0～-3. 617 2,P均0. 05)。EOD组左侧楔前叶与左侧锯状回、左侧小脑IV-VI区、左侧小脑Crus2区的功能连接比LOD组高(Z=4. 087 7、3. 937 4、3. 672 1,P均0. 05);EOD组左侧楔前叶与右侧额中回、右侧眶额部额下回、右侧额上回的功能连接比LOD组低(Z=-4. 274 8、-3. 956 8、-4. 724 3、-3. 663 2,P均0. 05)。结论 DMN内部功能连接增高及额顶网络功能连接降低可能与EOD的发病机制相关,而DMN前部功能连接增高和后部功能连接降低可能与LOD的发病机制相关,不同发病年龄的成年抑郁症患者可能有不同的发病机制。     

帕金森病患者脑灰质变化的VBM-MRI研究

目的应用核磁共振的基于体素形态学(voxel-based morphometry method of magnetic resonanceimaging,VBM-MRI)技术,研究帕金森病(Parkinson disease,PD)患者大脑灰质变化的状况。方法 28例PD组与年龄、受教育年限相匹配32例健康对照组的VBM-MRI图像数据进行比较,PD组中,早期PD组(early Parkinson disease,EPD,n=14)与晚期PD组((late Parkinson disease,LPD,n=14)的VBM-MRI图像数据进行比较。结果与健康对照组比较,VBM-MRI显示PD组患者存在下列脑区灰质体积减少:额叶(双侧额上回、左额下回)、双侧颞叶(颞上回、颞中回)、右侧扣带回、右侧丘脑、双侧尾状核及左顶下小叶。与EPD比较,VBM-MRI显示LPD在下列脑区存在灰质体积减少:额叶(双侧额上回、右侧额下回、右侧额叶眶部、双侧内侧前额叶),颞叶(右侧颞上回、左侧颞中回),右侧海马旁回、右侧尾状核、右侧下丘脑,差异均有显著统计学意义。结论本组PD患者的脑灰质改变,主要集中在额叶、颞叶、右侧扣带回及皮质下的灰质。随着PD病程进展,这些部位的灰质减少加剧,并在边缘叶有进展的趋势。     

震颤为主型帕金森病与特发性震颤患者脑灌注对比分析

目的 探讨震颤为主型帕金森病与特发性震颤患者的脑灌注差异。方法 纳入2016年10月至2018年12月复旦大学附属中山医院收治的25例震颤为主型帕金森病患者和23例特发性震颤患者,并招募性别、年龄相匹配的39例对照者,采用三维伪连续动脉自旋标记(3D-pCASL)测定脑血流量。结果 3组受试者双侧额中回、尾状核、小脑后叶,左侧额上回、海马旁回、枕叶舌回、枕下回、楔前叶,右侧眶部额中回、楔叶、枕上回、枕中回脑血流量存在差异(均P <0.05,AlphaSim校正)。帕金森病组左侧额上回(t=4.891,P <0.05)、左侧额中回(t=4.993,P <0.05)、左侧枕下回(t=4.403,P <0.05)脑血流量低于对照组,右侧眶部额中回脑血流量高于对照组(t=4.162,P <0.05);以及左侧(t=5.471,P <0.05)和右侧(t=4.798,P <0.05)额中回、左侧枕叶舌回(t=4.972,P <0.05)、左侧顶下回(t=4.532,P <0.05)、左侧尾状核(t=5.001,P <0.05)、右侧小脑...     

单侧颞叶癫痫患者双侧大脑半球间的功能协同性研究

目的研究单侧颞叶癫痫患者双侧大脑半球间同伦功能连接的变化。方法纳入左侧颞叶癫痫(left temporal lobe epilepsy,LTLE)21例、右侧颞叶癫痫患者(right temporal lobe epilepsy,RTLE)22例以及正常对照(normal control,NC)20例。采用体素-镜像同伦功能连接(voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity,VMHC)方法分析数据,计算出各组VMHC改变的脑区。结果与NC组相比较,LTLE组双侧辅助运动区(t=-3.35)、颞中回(t=-3.50)、内侧额上回(t=-3.20)、顶下小叶(t=-3.66)VMHC值降低;双侧角回(t=3.03)、枕下回(t=4.25)、顶上回(t=3.62)VMHC值升高(P0.05,alphasim校正)。与NC组相比较,RTLE组双侧颞中回(t=-4.26)、中央前回(t=-3.29)VMHC值减低;双侧枕下回(t=3.22)、海马旁脑回(t=3.32)和小脑(t=3.50)VMHC值升高(P0.05,alphasim校正)。结论单侧颞叶癫痫患者两侧半球间部分脑区的功能协同性发生了变化。     

青少年广泛性焦虑障碍患者静息态功能磁共振成像研究

目的:运用局部一致性(ReHo)方法研究首发青少年广泛性焦虑障碍患者的局部自发性脑活动. 方法:对19例首发青少年广泛性焦虑障碍患者及14名年龄、性别与其相匹配的正常对照进行静息态脑功能磁共振成像扫描,通过计算每个给定体素与其最邻近的26个体素之间的肯德尔和谐系数(KCC)来获得全脑的局部一致性(ReHo)图,利用双样本t检验分析两组受试者静息态下局部一致性的差异. 结果:与正常对照相比,青少年广泛性焦虑障碍患者局部一致性降低的脑区包括双侧额中回、枕中回,左侧额上回、颞下回、前扣带回及右侧顶下回、枕下回(P ＜0.005,未校正);局部一致性增高的脑区包括:右侧楔前叶、角回及左侧枕上回(P ＜0.005,未校正). 结论:青少年广泛性焦虑障碍患者静息态脑功能局部一致性存在异常.     

首发强迫障碍患者静息状态下大脑自发活动及功能连接的研究

目的:探讨首次发作的强迫障碍患者静息状态下大脑自发活动及功能连接(FC)特点。方法:对20例首发强迫障碍患者(患者组)和20名性别、年龄相匹配的正常对照者(对照组)进行静息态功能磁共振扫描(f MRI),计算0. 01～0. 08 Hz频段内脑区低频振幅比率(f ALFF值);以左侧缘上回为兴趣区做全脑FC;采用f ALFF及FC分析方法并进行基于全脑体素的统计分析。结果:与对照组相比较,患者组左侧眶部额中回、右侧枕中回、左侧楔叶f ALFF显著降低(P均0. 005,cluster 20),左侧小脑角下、左侧缘上回f ALFF显著增高(P均0. 005,cluster 20);左侧缘上回与右侧缘上回、右侧顶上回和右侧中央后回FC明显增强(P均0. 005)。结论:首发强迫障碍患者在静息状态下存在多个脑区自发神经活动及FC异常,可能与首发强迫障碍的核心症状有关。     

Cortical thickness in frontotemporal dementia, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer's disease

Cortical thickness analysis has been proposed as a potential diagnostic measure in memory disorders. In this retrospective study, we compared the cortical thickness values of 24 patients with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) to those of 25 healthy controls, 45 symptomatic subjects with stable mild cognitive impairment (S-MCI), 15 subjects with progressive mild cognitive impairment (P-MCI), and 36 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The patterns of regions of thinning in FTD when compared to controls and also S-MCI patients showed similar trends; thinning of the bilateral frontal poles and bilateral medial temporal lobe structures, especially the anterior part of the gingulum, the uncus, and parahippocampal gyri. Cortical thinning in FTD was also found on the boundary regions of parietal and occipital lobes. In the P-MCI group compared to FTD, the trend of thinning in small distinct areas of the parietal and occipital lobes was observed. The FTD and AD groups did not differ statistically, but we found trends toward thinning in FTD of the left cingulate gyrus, and the left occipitotemporal gyri, and in AD of the inferior parietal, occipitoparietal, and the pericalcarine regions, more in the right hemisphere. In FTD, increased slowness in the executive test (Trail-Making A) correlated with the thinner cortex, whereas the language tests showed the lower scores, the thinner cortex in the left hemisphere. Cortical thickness might be a tool for detecting subtle changes in brain atrophy in screening of dementia prior to the development of diffuse or lobar atrophies.     

Functional anatomy of impaired selective attention and compensatory processing in autism

In autism, physiological indices of selective attention have been shown to be abnormal even in situations where behaviour is intact. This divergence between behaviour and physiology suggests the action of some compensatory process of attention, one which may hold clues to the aetiology of autism's characteristic cognitive phenotype. Six subjects with autism spectrum disorders and six normal control subjects were studied with functional magnetic resonance imaging while performing a bilateral visual spatial attention task. In normal subjects, the task evoked activation in a network of cortical regions including the superior parietal lobe (P<0.001), left middle temporal gyrus (P=0.002), left inferior (P<0.001) and middle (P<0.02) frontal gyri, and medial frontal gyrus (P<0.02). Autistic subjects, in contrast, showed activation in the bilateral ventral occipital cortex (P<0.03) and striate cortex (P<0.05). Within the task condition, a region-of-interest comparison of attend-left versus attend-right conditions indicated that modulation of activation in the autistic brain as a function of the lateral focus of spatial attention was abnormally decreased in the left ventral occipital cortex (P<0.03), abnormally increased in the left intraparietal sulcus (P<0.01), and abnormally variable in the superior parietal lobe (P<0.03). These results are discussed in terms of a model of autism in which a pervasive defect of neural and synaptic development produces over-connected neural systems prone to noise and crosstalk, resulting in hyper-arousal and reduced selectivity. These low-level attentional traits may be the developmental basis for higher-order cognitive styles such as weak central coherence.     

Cortical and subcortical responsiveness to intensive adaptive working memory training: An MRI surface‐based analysis

Working memory training (WMT) has been shown to have effects on cognitive performance, the precise effects and the underlying neurobiological mechanisms are, however, still a matter of debate. In particular, the impact of WMT on gray matter morphology is still rather unclear. In the present study, 59 healthy middle‐aged participants (age range 50–65 years) were pseudo‐randomly single‐blinded allocated to an 8‐week adaptive WMT or an 8‐week nonadaptive intervention. Before and after the intervention, high resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed and cognitive test performance was assessed in all participants. Vertex‐wise cortical volume, thickness, surface area, and cortical folding was calculated. Seven subcortical volumes of interest and global mean cortical thickness were also measured. Comparisons of symmetrized percent change (SPC) between groups were conducted to identify group by time interactions. Greater increases in cortical gyrification in bilateral parietal regions, including superior parietal cortex and inferior parietal lobule as well as precuneus, greater increases in cortical volume and thickness in bilateral primary motor cortex, and changes in surface area in bilateral occipital cortex (medial and lateral occipital cortex) were detected in WMT group after training compared to active controls. Structural training‐induced changes in WM‐related regions, especially parietal regions, might provide a better brain processing environment for higher WM load.     

Remission status and cortical thickness in childhood-onset schizophrenia

ObjectiveFew studies have examined prediction of schizophrenia outcome in relation to brain magnetic resonance imaging measures. In this study, remission status at the time of discharge was examined in relation to admission cortical thickness for childhood-onset schizophrenia probands. We hypothesized that total, frontal, temporal, and parietal gray matter thickness would be greater in patients who subsequently remit.MethodThe relation between admission cortical brain thickness on magnetic resonance imaging and remission status at the time of discharge an average of 3 months later was examined for 56 individuals (32 males) ages 6 to 19 diagnosed with childhood-onset schizophrenia. Cortical thickness was measured across the cerebral hemispheres at admission. Discharge remission criteria were adapted from the 2005 Remission in Schizophrenia Working Group criteria.ResultsPatients remitted at discharge (n = 16 [29%]) had thicker regional cortex in left orbitofrontal, left superior, and middle temporal gyri and bilateral postcentral and angular gyri (p ≤ .008).ConclusionsOur results provide neuroanatomic correlates of clinical remission in schizophrenia and evidence that response to treatment may be mediated by these cortical brain regions. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry, 2008;47(10):1133–1140.     

Widespread cortical thinning in children with frontal lobe epilepsy

Purpose: Spread of seizure activity outside the frontal lobe due to cortico‐cortical connections can result in alteration in the cortex beyond the frontal lobe in children with intractable frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE). The aim of this study was to identify regions of reduced cortical thickness in children with intractable FLE. Methods: High‐resolution volumetric T₁‐weighted imaging was performed on 17 children with FLE, who were being evaluated for epilepsy surgery, and 26 age‐matched healthy controls. The cortical thickness of 12 patients with left FLE and 5 patients with right FLE was compared to controls. The clusters of cortical thinning were regressed against age of seizure onset, duration of epilepsy, seizure frequency, and number of medications. Key Findings: In children with left FLE, cortical thinning was present in the left superior frontal, paracentral, precuneus, cingulate, inferior parietal, supramarginal, postcentral, and superior temporal gyri, as well as in the right superior and middle frontal, medial orbitofrontal, supramarginal, postcentral, banks of superior temporal sulcus, and parahippocampal gyri. In children with right FLE, cortical thinning was present in the right precentral, postcentral, transverse temporal, parahippocampal, lingual, and lateral occipital gyri, as well as in the left superior frontal, inferior parietal, postcentral, superior temporal, posterior cingulate, and lingual gyri. In children with left FLE, following exclusion of one outlier, there was no significant association between age at seizure onset, duration of epilepsy, seizure frequency and number of medications with clusters of cortical thinning. In children with right FLE, age at seizure onset, duration of epilepsy, frequency of seizures, and number of medications were not associated with clusters of cortical thinning within the right and left hemispheres. Significance: Cortical changes were present in the frontal and extrafrontal cortex in children with intractable FLE. These changes may be related to spread of seizure activity, large epileptogenic zones involving both frontal and extrafrontal lobes, and development of secondary epileptogenic zones that over time lead to cortical abnormality. Further studies correlating cortical changes with neurocognitive measures are needed to determine if the cortical changes relate to cognitive function.     

Reduced cortical thickness in non-medicated patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder

Increasing evidence suggests the presence of grey matter volume abnormalities in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and the mediation of the expression of different OCD symptoms by discrete neural systems of the brain. However, limited studies have investigated the abnormalities of cortical thickness, and their results are comparatively inconsistent, possibly owing to the inclusion of medicated patients. Therefore, this study investigated cortical thickness abnormalities using surface-based analysis to identify distinct neural correlates of each symptom dimension in non-medicated patients with OCD. Thirty non-medicated patients with OCD and 30 age- and gender-matched healthy controls underwent magnetic resonance imaging. Group comparison of cortical thickness was performed using surface-based analysis. We also conducted correlation analysis between cortical thickness and each symptom dimension score. Compared to the healthy controls, the OCD patients had statistically significant reduction in cortical thickness in the cluster that contained the left superior temporal gyrus and posterior insular cortex (p<.05, corrected); no areas of the brain had significantly greater cortical thickness. Negative correlation was also found between cortical thickness and "cleaning" dimension scores in the left postcentral and right superior parietal gyri. The present results suggest that cortical thinning in the region that contains the left superior temporal gyrus and posterior insula may underlie pathophysiology of OCD and that discrete neural systems may mediate the "cleaning" symptom dimension.     

Structural changes in the gray matter of unmedicated patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder: a voxel-based morphometric study

The aim of the current study was to use whole brain voxel-based morphometry（VBM）to assess the gray matter（GM）changes in unmedicated patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder（OCD）compared with normal controls.We compared the GM volumes in28 patients with 22 matched healthy controls using a1.5T MRI.Three-dimensional T1-weighted magnetic resonance images were obtained from all participants.VBM was performed to detect GM volume differences between the two groups.We detected increased regional GM volumes in the bilateral middle temporal gyri,bilateral middle occipital gyri,bilateral globus pallidus,right inferior parietal gyrus,left superior parietal gyrus,right parahippocampus,right supramarginal gyrus,right medial superior frontal gyrus,and left inferior frontal opercular cortex in the OCD patients relative to controls（P〈0.001,uncorrected,cluster size〉100 voxels）.No decreased GM volume was found in the OCD group compared with normal controls.Our findings suggest that structural changes in the GM are not limited to fronto-striato-thalamic circuits in the pathogenesis of OCD.Temporo-parietal cortex may also play an important role.     

Neuroanatomical correlates of phonological processing of Chinese characters and alphabetic words: a meta-analysis

We used the activation likelihood estimation (ALE) method to quantitatively synthesize data from 19 published brain mapping studies of phonological processing in reading, six with Chinese and 13 with alphabetic languages. It demonstrated high concordance of cortical activity across multiple studies in each written language system as well as significant differences of activation likelihood between languages. Four neural systems for the phonological processing of Chinese characters included: (1) a left dorsal lateral frontal system at Brodmann area (BA) 9; (2) the dorsal aspect of left inferior parietal system; (3) a bilateral ventral-occipitotemporal system including portions of fusiform gyrus and middle occipital gyrus; and (4) a left ventral prefrontal system covering the superior aspect of inferior frontal gyrus. For phonological processing of written alphabetic words, cortical areas identified here are consistent with the three neural systems proposed previously in the literature: (1) a ventral prefrontal system involving superior portions of left inferior frontal gyrus; (2) a left dorsal temporoparietal system including mid-superior temporal gyri and the ventral aspect of inferior parietal cortex (supramarginal region); and (3) a left ventral occipitotemporal system. Contributions of each of these systems to phonological processing in reading were discussed, and a covariant learning hypothesis is offered to account for the findings that left middle frontal gyrus is responsible for addressed phonology in Chinese whereas left temporoparietal regions mediate assembled phonology in alphabetic languages. Language form, cognitive process, and learning strategy drive the development of functional neuroanatomy.