Welcome to the Archive of Neuroimaging Meta-Analyses (ANIMA), an online repository for results of meta-analytic studies based on neuroimaging data. Studies in this database include findings based upon methods such as Activation Likelihood Estimation (ALE), or Meta-analytic Connectivity Modelling (MACM). Study data can be downloaded directly from this site, or through our convenient stand-alone Volume Viewer application, which is available for all platforms, and can be downloaded here.

StudyDescriptionSizeFiles
Computing the Social Brain Connectome Across Systems and States. Cerebral Cortex. May 18th: 1-26.This study computed a social brain atlas from neural activity convergence in different social behaviors. We utilized complementary connectivity metrics: meta-analytic connectivity modeling evaluated the coactivation in task-focused mind states and resting-state correlations evaluated physiological fluctuation in task-free mind states. Hemispheric asymmetries were mostly found in the task-engaged social brain, including connectivity convergence of default mode regions to the left inferior frontal gyrus. Comparing social brain networks during task engagement versus unconstrained mind-wandering, the amygdala emerged as a global integrator of the limbic system versus saliency network. Finally, the putative mirror-neuron system was as connectionally coherent during tasks as the networks underlying empathy and theory of mind, but more coupled with the former embodiment than latter abstraction system. 21.6K 36
Definition and characterization of an extended social-affective default network. Brain Structure and Function. 220(2): 1031-1049.In this study, we established a robust mapping of the social-affective default mode network (DMN) and those strongly connected to them (the extended social-affective default network). We performed meta-analytic connectivity modeling and resting-state analyses in the meta-analytically defined DMN regions, and obtained a a conjunction across both connectivity analyses. We then functionally characterized the ensuing regions and performed several cluster analyses. The current work highlights a robustly interconnected network that may be central to introspective, socio-affective, that is, self- and other-related mental processes. 893.6K 20
ALE meta-analysis on facial judgments of trustworthiness and attractiveness. Brain Structure and Function. 215(3-4): 209-223.We conducted an activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis on 16 functional magnetic resonance imaging studies pertaining to facial judgments of trustworthiness and attractiveness. Throughout combined, individual, and conjunction analyses on those two facial judgments, we observed consistent maxima in the amygdala which corroborates our initial hypothesis. This finding supports the contemporary paradigm shift extending the amygdala's role from dominantly processing negative emotional stimuli to processing socially relevant ones. Our data suggest that such a role includes not only "fight-or-flight" decisions but also social behaviors with longer term pay-off schedules, e.g., trustworthiness and attractiveness evaluation. 336.9K 4
Parsing the neural correlates of moral cognition: ALE meta-analysis on morality, theory of mind, and empathy. Brain Structure and Function. 217(4): 783-96.We tested the hypothesis that moral decisions might be implemented in brain areas engaged in "theory of mind" and empathy, by conducting a large-scale activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies, which assessed 2,607 peak coordinates from 247 experiments in 1,790 participants. 498.7K 5
An investigation of the structural, connectional, and functional subspecialization in the human amygdala. Human Brain Mapping. 34(12): 3247-3266.We here employed methods for large-scale data mining to perform a connectivity-derived parcellation of the human amygdala based on whole-brain coactivation patterns computed for each seed voxel. Using this approach, connectivity-based parcellation divided the amygdala into three distinct clusters that are highly consistent with earlier microstructural distinctions. Meta-analytic connectivity modelling and functional characterization further revealed that the amygdala's laterobasal nuclei group was associated with coordinating high-level sensory input, whereas its centromedial nuclei group was linked to mediating attentional, vegetative, and motor responses. The results of this model-free approach support the concordance of structural, connectional, and functional organization in the human amygdala. 2.0M 9
Characterization of the temporo-parietal junction by combining data-driven parcellation, complementary connectivity analyses, and functional decoding. Brain Structure and Function. 81: 381-392.We conducted multi-modal connectivity-based parcellation to investigate potentially separate functional modules within right temporoparietal junction (RTPJ). Both task-constrained meta-analytic coactivation mapping and task-free resting-state connectivity analysis independently identified two distinct clusters within RTPJ. Coactivation mapping and resting-state correlations revealed that the anterior cluster increased neural activity concomitantly with a midcingulate-motor-insular network, functionally associated with attention, and decreased neural activity concomitantly with a parietal network, functionally associated with social cognition and memory retrieval, while the posterior cluster showed the exact opposite association pattern. 2.2M 3
Segregation of the human medial prefrontal cortex in social cognition. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 7: 232.Functional connectivity analysis of the ventromedial and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. Across methods, the ventral mPFC was more strongly connected with the nucleus accumbens, hippocampus, posterior cingulate cortex, and retrosplenial cortex, while the dorsal mPFC was more strongly connected with the inferior frontal gyrus, temporo-parietal junction, and middle temporal gyrus. Further, the ventral mPFC was selectively associated with reward related tasks, while the dorsal mPFC was selectively associated with perspective-taking and episodic memory retrieval. 1.1M 3
Subspecialization in the human posterior medial cortex. Neuroimage. 106: 55-71.We here investigated posteriomedial (PMC) properties with a data-driven exploratory approach. First, we subdivided the PMC by whole-brain coactivation profiles. Second, functional connectivity of the ensuing PMC regions was compared by task-constrained meta-analytic coactivation mapping (MACM) and task-unconstrained resting-state correlations (RSFC). Third, PMC regions were functionally described by forward/reverse functional inference. We found four clusters, including a precuneal cluster, a ventral posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) cluster, a dorsal PCC cluster, and a retrosplenial cluster. All PMC clusters were functionally coupled with the default mode network for task-unconstrained, but not task-constrained, connectivity. 2.1M 5
ALE meta-analysis of action observation and imitation in the human brain. NeuroImage. 50: 1148-1167.We investigated the neural correlates of action observation and imitation in the human brain, based on 139 functional imaging studies. For both types of task, bilateral networks were found. These did not only involve classic mirror neuron areas such as inferior frontal and inferior parietal cortex, but also dorsal premotor, superior parietal, posterior superior temporal and extrastriate visual areas. Additional analyses revealed the influence of effector used during the action, the instruction given to the subjects, and the involvement of objects during the action. 1.9M 4
Functional differentiation in the human ventromedial frontal lobe: A data‐driven parcellation. Human Brain Mapping. : .MACM based parcellation of the ventromedial frontal lobe. 1.5M 7