AUTHOR=Shen Dongchao , Cui Liying , Cui Bo , Fang Jia , Li Dawei , Ma Junfang TITLE=A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Functional MRI Investigation of Motor Neuron Disease JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology VOLUME=6 YEAR=2015 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2015.00246 DOI=10.3389/fneur.2015.00246 ISSN=1664-2295 ABSTRACT=Background

To assess the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in motor neuron disease (MND), a systematic review and voxelwise meta-analysis of studies comparing brain activity in patients with MND and in healthy controls was conducted to identify common findings across studies.

Methods

A search for related papers published in English and Chinese was performed in Ovid Medline, Pubmed, and Embase database. Voxelwise meta-analysis was performed using signed differential mapping.

Results

The findings from 55 fMRI studies on MND were tabulated, and some common findings were discussed in further details.

Conclusion

These findings are preliminary, sometimes even contradictory, and do not allow a complete understanding of the functional alterations in MND. However, we documented reliable findings that MND is not confined to the motor system, but is a multisystem disorder involving extra-motor cortex areas, causing cognitive dysfunction and deficits in socioemotional and sensory processing pathways.