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

Early evidence suggests that unexpected non-reward may increase the risk for aggressive behaviors. Despite the growing interest in understanding brain functions that may be implicated in aggressive behaviors, the neural processes underlying such frustrative events remain largely unknown. Furthermore, meta-analytic results have produced discrepant results, potentially due to substantial differences in the definition of anger/aggression constructs. Therefore, coordinate-based meta-analyses on unexpected non-reward and retaliatory behaviors in healthy subjects were conducted. Conjunction analyses were further examined to discover overlapping brain activations across these meta-analytical maps. Frustrative non-reward deactivated the orbitofrontal cortex, ventral striatum and posterior cingulate cortex, whereas increased activations were observed in midcingulo-insular regions, as well as dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, amygdala, thalamus and periaqueductal gray, when using liberal threshold. Retaliation activated of midcingulo-insular regions, the dorsal caudate and the primary somatosensory cortex. Conjunction analyses revealed that both strongly activated midcingulo-insular regions. Our results underscore the role of anterior midcingulate/pre-supplementary motor area and fronto-insular cortex in both frustration and retaliatory behaviors. A neurobiological framework for understanding frustration-based impulsive aggression is provided.

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Aggressive behaviour in childhood and adolescence: the role of smoking during pregnancy, evidence from four twin cohorts in the EU-ACTION consortium

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0033291718001344 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 49 (4) ◽

pp. 646-654 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Margherita Malanchini ◽

Emily Smith-Woolley ◽

Ziada Ayorech ◽

Kaili Rimfeld ◽

Eva Krapohl ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Aggressive Behaviour ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Independent Effect ◽

Childhood And Adolescence ◽

Perinatal Factors ◽

Smoking During Pregnancy ◽

Level Data ◽

Item Level ◽

Socio Demographic Factors ◽

The Eu

AbstractBackgroundMaternal smoking during pregnancy (MSDP) has been linked to offspring's externalizing problems. It has been argued that socio-demographic factors (e.g. maternal age and education), co-occurring environmental risk factors, or pleiotropic genetic effects may account for the association between MSDP and later outcomes. This study provides a comprehensive investigation of the association between MSDP and a single harmonized component of externalizing: aggressive behaviour, measured throughout childhood and adolescence.MethodsData came from four prospective twin cohorts – Twins Early Development Study, Netherlands Twin Register, Childhood and Adolescent Twin Study of Sweden, and FinnTwin12 study – who collaborate in the EU-ACTION consortium. Data from 30 708 unrelated individuals were analysed. Based on item level data, a harmonized measure of aggression was created at ages 9–10; 12; 14–15 and 16–18.ResultsMSDP predicted aggression in childhood and adolescence. A meta-analysis across the four samples found the independent effect of MSDP to be 0.4% (r = 0.066), this remained consistent when analyses were performed separately by sex. All other perinatal factors combined explained 1.1% of the variance in aggression across all ages and samples (r = 0.112). Paternal smoking and aggressive parenting strategies did not account for the MSDP-aggression association, consistent with the hypothesis of a small direct link between MSDP and aggression.ConclusionsPerinatal factors, including MSDP, account for a small portion of the variance in aggression in childhood and adolescence. Later experiences may play a greater role in shaping adolescents’ aggressive behaviour.

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Increased Prefrontal and Parahippocampal Activation with Reduced Dorsolateral Prefrontal and Insular Cortex Activation to Food Images in Obesity: A Meta-Analysis of fMRI Studies

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0060393 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. e60393 ◽

Cited By ~ 144

Author(s):

Samantha J. Brooks ◽

Jonathan Cedernaes ◽

Helgi B. Schiöth

Keyword(s):

Meta Analysis ◽

Insular Cortex ◽

Dorsolateral Prefrontal ◽

Food Images

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Common pattern of gray-matter abnormalities in drug-naive and medicated first-episode schizophrenia: a multimodal meta-analysis

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0033291716002683 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 47 (3) ◽

pp. 401-413 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

C. Shah ◽

W. Zhang ◽

Y. Xiao ◽

L. Yao ◽

Y. Zhao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gray Matter ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Insular Cortex ◽

Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽

First Episode ◽

Antipsychotic Treatment ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Drug Naïve ◽

Meta Analyses ◽

First Episode Schizophrenia

Studies of schizophrenia at drug-naive state and on antipsychotic medication have reported a number of regions of gray-matter (GM) abnormalities but the reports have been inconsistent. The aim of this study was to conduct multimodal meta-analysis to compare the cross-sectional voxel-based morphometry studies of brain GM in antipsychotic-naive first-episode schizophrenia (AN-FES) and those with antipsychotic treatment within 1 year (AT-FES) to determine the similarities and differences in these groups. We conducted two separate meta-analyses containing 24 studies with a sample size of 801 patients and 957 healthy controls. A multimodal meta-analysis method was used to compare the findings between AN-FES and AT-FES. Meta-regression analyses were done to determine the influence of different variables including age, duration of illness, and positive and negative symptom scores. Finally, jack-knife analyses were done to test the robustness of the results. AN-FES and AT-FES showed common patterns of GM abnormalities in frontal (gyrus rectus), superior temporal, left hippocampal and insular cortex. GM in the left supramarginal gyrus and left middle temporal gyrus were found to be increased in AN-FES but decreased in AT-FES, whereas left median cingulate/paracingulate gyri and right hippocampus GM was decreased in AN-FES but increased in AT-FES. Findings suggest that both AN-FES and AT-FES share frontal, temporal and insular regions as common anatomical regions to be affected indicating these to be the primary regions of GM abnormalities in both groups.

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Differences between Atrial Fibrillation Detected before and after Stroke and TIA: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Cerebrovascular Diseases ◽

10.1159/000520101 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-6

Author(s):

Sebastian Fridman ◽

Amado Jimenez-Ruiz ◽

Juan Camilo Vargas-Gonzalez ◽

Luciano A. Sposato

Keyword(s):

Atrial Fibrillation ◽

Heart Disease ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Insular Cortex ◽

Structural Heart Disease ◽

Left Ventricular ◽

Left Ventricular Ejection ◽

Stroke Recurrence ◽

Stroke Severity ◽

Ventricular Ejection Fraction

Background: Preliminary evidence suggests that patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) detected after stroke (AFDAS) may have a lower prevalence of cardiovascular comorbidities and lower risk of stroke recurrence than AF known before stroke (KAF). Objective: We performed a systematic search and meta-analysis to compare the characteristics of AFDAS and KAF. Methods: We searched PubMed, Scopus, and EMBASE for articles reporting differences between AFDAS and KAF until June 30, 2021. We performed random- or fixed-effects meta-analyses to evaluate differences between AFDAS and KAF in demographic factors, vascular risk factors, prevalent vascular comorbidities, structural heart disease, stroke severity, insular cortex involvement, stroke recurrence, and death. Results: In 21 studies including 22,566 patients with ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack, the prevalence of coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, prior myocardial infarction, and a history of cerebrovascular events was significantly lower in AFDAS than KAF. Left atrial size was smaller, and left ventricular ejection fraction was higher in AFDAS than KAF. The risk of recurrent stroke was 26% lower in AFDAS than in KAF. There were no differences in age, sex, stroke severity, or death rates between AFDAS and KAF. There were not enough studies to report differences in insular cortex involvement between AF types. Conclusions: We found significant differences in the prevalence of vascular comorbidities, structural heart disease, and stroke recurrence rates between AFDAS and KAF, suggesting that they constitute different clinical entities within the AF spectrum. PROSPERO registration number is CRD42020202622.

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Understanding intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of aggressive behaviour in waterbird assemblages: a meta-analysis

Animal Behaviour ◽

10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.02.008 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 126 ◽

pp. 209-216 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Kevin A. Wood ◽

Jessica Ponting ◽

Nathan D'Costa ◽

Julia L. Newth ◽

Paul E. Rose ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Aggressive Behaviour ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Waterbird Assemblages

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The role of the human insular cortex in pain processing

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/s0924-9338(11)72706-7 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 26 (S2) ◽

pp. 1001-1001 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

I. Mutschler ◽

J. Wankerl ◽

E. Seifritz ◽

T. Ball

Keyword(s):

Emotional Processing ◽

Anterior Part ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Methodological Approach ◽

Insular Cortex ◽

Anterior Insula ◽

Likelihood Estimate ◽

Pain Processing ◽

Wide Range ◽

Empathy For Pain

The human insular cortex is involved in a wide range of functions. A recent study done by conducting an activation likelihood estimate (ALE) meta-analysis suggests that there are anatomical subregions with functional specializations for motor processing, auditory perception and homeostatic control, which plays an important role in emotional processing (Mutschler et al., 2009). An increasing number of studies propose the involvement of the anterior insula in experiencing pain and empathy for pain, e.g. when someone perceives a loved one feeling pain (Craig, 2009, Singer et al., 2004). In this present work, the activation likelihood estimate (ALE) method (Turkeltaub et al., 2002) was applied and 59 studies reporting pain processing and 19 investigating empathy for pain entered the meta-analysis to investigate the questions whether there are functional specializations within the insular cortex for pain processing and empathy for pain. Pain studies revealed activation in the posterior and mid-anterior part of the insula. In contrast, the ALE-maximum of studies investigating empathy for pain was located more anterior than studies investigating physically induced pain. The present findings provide insights into the organization of the human anterior insula and support the posterior-to-anterior gradient for interoceptive representations in the Insula proposed by Craig (2009). According to this view, an increasingly elaborate and complex representation of bodily states may progress from the posterior to the anterior insula region. Meta-analyses represent an important methodological approach for ruling out false positive results and contribute to the generation of hypotheses which can be experimentally proven.

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Efficacy of mood stabilisers in the treatment of impulsive or repetitive aggression: systematic review and meta-analysis

The British Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1192/bjp.bp.110.083030 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 198 (2) ◽

pp. 93-98 ◽

Cited By ~ 67

Author(s):

Roland M. Jones ◽

James Arlidge ◽

Rebecca Gillham ◽

Shuja Reagu ◽

Marianne van den Bree ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Aggressive Behaviour ◽

Randomised Controlled Trials ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Diagnostic Category ◽

Pooled Analysis ◽

Risk Of Bias ◽

Controlled Trials ◽

Brain Disorder ◽

Impulsive Aggression ◽

Randomised Controlled

BackgroundIndividuals with repetitive or impulsive aggression in the absence of other disorders may be diagnosed with intermittent explosive disorder according to DSM–IV, but no such diagnostic category exists in ICD–10. Mood stabilisers are often used off-license for the treatment of aggression associated with a variety of psychiatric conditions, but their efficacy in these and in idiopathic aggression is not known.AimsTo summarise and evaluate the evidence for the efficacy of mood stabilisers (anticonvulsants/lithium) in the treatment of impulsive or repetitive aggression in adults.MethodA meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials that compared a mood stabiliser with placebo in adults without intellectual disability, organic brain disorder or psychotic illness, identified as exhibiting repetitive or impulsive aggression.ResultsTen eligible trials (489 participants) were identified A pooled analysis showed an overall significant reduction in the frequency/severity of aggressive behaviour (standardised mean difference (SMD) =–1.02, 95% CI −1.54 to −0.50), although heterogeneity was high (I2 = 84.7%). When analysed by drug type, significant effects were found in the pooled analysis of three phenytoin trials (SMD =–1.34, 95% CI −2.16 to −0.52), one lithium trial (SMD =–0.81, 95% CI −1.35 to −0.28), and two oxcarbazepine/carbamazepine trials (SMD =–1.20, 95% CI −1.83 to −0.56). However, when the results of only those studies that had a low risk of bias were pooled (347 participants), there was no significant reduction in aggression (SMD =–0.28, 95% CI −0.73 to 0.17, I2 = 71.4%).ConclusionsThere is evidence that mood stabilisers as a group are significantly better than placebo in reducing aggressive behaviour, but not all mood stabilisers appear to share this effect. There is evidence of efficacy for carbamazepine/oxcarbazepine, phenytoin and lithium. Many studies, however, were at risk of bias and so further randomised controlled trials are recommended.

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