title: Brain activation in response to bladder filling in healthy adults: An activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies.
abstract: Recent studies have used different neuroimaging techniques and identified various brain regions that are activated during bladder filling. However, there is a lack of consensus regarding which of these brain regions regulate the process of urine storage. The aim of this meta-analysis is to identify brain regions that are commonly activated during bladder filling in healthy adults across different studies.
  
  
  
  PubMed was searched for neuroimaging studies investigating the effects of bladder filling on regional brain activation. Studies were excluded if they did not report brain activation differences from whole-brain group analysis by comparing the state of bladder filling with the state of bladder rest. The current version of the activation likelihood estimation (ALE) approach was used for meta-analysis.
  
  
  
  We identified 14 neuroimaging studies examining brain activation in response to experimental bladder filling in 181 healthy subjects, which reported 89 foci for ALE analysis. The meta-analysis revealed significant activation in multiple brain regions including thalamus (bilaterally), right insula, cerebellum, and brainstem (bilaterally).
  
  
  
  Several key brain regions involved in sensory processing are commonly activated during bladder filling in healthy adults across different studies. Neurourol. Urodynam. 36:960-965, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
authors.affiliation: Division of Urogynecology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Nisha G
authors.initials: NG
authors.lastname: Arya
authors.affiliation: Division of Urogynecology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Steven J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Weissbart
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Applied Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, China.|Center for Functional Neuroimaging, Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Sihua
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Applied Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, China.|Center for Functional Neuroimaging, Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Hengyi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rao
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D006801:Humans; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D059906:Neuroimaging; D001743:Urinary Bladder / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: brain; functional neuroimaging; meta-analysis; urinary bladder