Consistent abnormal activity in the putamen by dopamine modulation in Parkinson’s disease: a resting-state neuroimaging meta-analysis

Objective This study aimed to elucidate brain areas mediated by oral anti-parkinsonian medicine that consistently show abnormal resting-state activation in PD and to reveal their functional connectivity profiles using meta-analytic approaches. Methods Searches of the PubMed, Web of Science databases identified 78 neuroimaging studies including PD OFF state (PD-OFF) versus (vs.) PD ON state (PD-ON) or PD-ON versus healthy controls (HCs) or PD-OFF versus HCs data. Coordinate-based meta-analysis and functional meta-analytic connectivity modeling (MACM) were performed using the activation likelihood estimation algorithm. Results Brain activation in PD-OFF vs. PD-ON was significantly changed in the right putamen and left inferior parietal lobule (IPL). Contrast analysis indicated that PD-OFF vs. HCs had more consistent activation in the right paracentral lobule, right middle frontal gyrus, right thalamus, left superior parietal lobule and right putamen, whereas PD-ON vs. HCs elicited more consistent activation in the bilateral middle temporal gyrus, left occipital gyrus, right inferior frontal gyrus and right caudate. MACM revealed coactivation of the right putamen in the direct contrast of PD-OFF vs. PD-ON. Subtraction analysis of significant coactivation clusters for PD-OFF vs. PD-ON with the medium of HCs showed effects in the sensorimotor, top-down control, and visual networks. By overlapping the MACM maps of the two analytical strategies, we demonstrated that the coactivated brain region focused on the right putamen. Conclusions The convergence of local brain regions and co-activation neural networks are involved the putamen, suggesting its potential as a specific imaging biomarker to monitor treatment efficacy. Systematic review registration [https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/], identifier [CRD CRD42022304150].