Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews
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Neurosci Biobehav Rev · Feb 2012
Review Meta AnalysisA meta-analysis of voxel-based morphometry studies of white matter volume alterations in Alzheimer's disease.
Structural neuroimaging studies of white matter volume (WMV) in Alzheimer's disease (AD) with voxel-based morphometry (VBM) have yielded variable findings. ⋯ White matter atrophy was clearly identified in AD, mainly in bilateral structures close to memory formations such as the hippocampus, amygdala, and entorhinal cortex.
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Neurosci Biobehav Rev · Jan 2012
Meta AnalysisBrain regions with mirror properties: a meta-analysis of 125 human fMRI studies.
Mirror neurons in macaque area F5 fire when an animal performs an action, such as a mouth or limb movement, and also when the animal passively observes an identical or similar action performed by another individual. Brain-imaging studies in humans conducted over the last 20 years have repeatedly attempted to reveal analogous brain regions with mirror properties in humans, with broad and often speculative claims about their functional significance across a range of cognitive domains, from language to social cognition. Despite such concerted efforts, the likely neural substrates of these mirror regions have remained controversial, and indeed the very existence of a distinct subcategory of human neurons with mirroring properties has been questioned. ⋯ The analysis revealed 14 separate clusters in which activation has been consistently attributed to brain regions with mirror properties, encompassing 9 different Brodmann areas. These clusters were located in areas purported to show mirroring properties in the macaque, such as the inferior parietal lobule, inferior frontal gyrus and the adjacent ventral premotor cortex, but surprisingly also in regions such as the primary visual cortex, cerebellum and parts of the limbic system. Our findings suggest a core network of human brain regions that possess mirror properties associated with action observation and execution, with additional areas recruited during tasks that engage non-motor functions, such as auditory, somatosensory and affective components.
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Neurosci Biobehav Rev · Jan 2005
Review Meta AnalysisMeta-analysis of sex differences in rodent models of learning and memory: a review of behavioral and biological data.
The existence of sex differences in the standard rat and mouse models of learning and memory is a controversial and contested topic in the literature. The present meta-analysis of radial maze and water maze experiments was conducted to assess the reliablility and magnitude of sex effects in the standard rodent models of learning and memory. Data were culled from published and unpublished sources. ⋯ Together these findings establish the reliability of male advantages in spatial working and reference memory for rats across strains, protocols, ages and rearing environments. The findings also support an important species dichotomy between rats and mice that should be considered when transitioning from rat to mouse models. In light of these results, the biological evidence supporting theoretical explanations of sex differences is reviewed and evaluated.