Objective To explore the differences in neural activity between patients with anorexia nervosa(AN)and healthy controls(HC),as well as the association between these differences and symptoms in AN patients,using activation likelihood estimation(ALE)meta-analysis.Methods The literature search covered the period from 2000 to March 2025.From a pool of 588 identified studies,4 studies focusing on the neural activity differences between AN patients and HC were selected for inclusion.These studies comprised 106 participants and 21 sets of coordinates.The ALE meta-analysis method was employed,and the GingerALE software was used to systematically analyze the reported brain region changes and their peak coordinates,aiming to investigate the differences in brain functional activity between AN patients and HC.Results Compared to the HC group,AN group showed significantly enhanced activation in the left parahippocampal gyrus/amygdala(ALE value=0.39×10-2),right parahippocampal gyrus/amygdala(ALE value=0.39×10-2)and suboccipital gyrus(ALE value=0.39×10-2),along with a significant reduction in activation in Brodmann area 17(ALE value=0.61×10-2)(P<0.01,FWE corrected).Conclusion Key brain regions in AN patients including the parahippocampal gyrus,inferior occipital gyrus,and amygdala demonstrate significant functional activation abnormalities.

Objective To explore the differences in neural activity between patients with anorexia nervosa(AN)and healthy controls(HC),as well as the association between these differences and symptoms in AN patients,using activation likelihood estimation(ALE)meta-analysis.Methods The literature search covered the period from 2000 to March 2025.From a pool of 588 identified studies,4 studies focusing on the neural activity differences between AN patients and HC were selected for inclusion.These studies comprised 106 participants and 21 sets of coordinates.The ALE meta-analysis method was employed,and the GingerALE software was used to systematically analyze the reported brain region changes and their peak coordinates,aiming to investigate the differences in brain functional activity between AN patients and HC.Results Compared to the HC group,AN group showed significantly enhanced activation in the left parahippocampal gyrus/amygdala(ALE value=0.39×10-2),right parahippocampal gyrus/amygdala(ALE value=0.39×10-2)and suboccipital gyrus(ALE value=0.39×10-2),along with a significant reduction in activation in Brodmann area 17(ALE value=0.61×10-2)(P<0.01,FWE corrected).Conclusion Key brain regions in AN patients including the parahippocampal gyrus,inferior occipital gyrus,and amygdala demonstrate significant functional activation abnormalities.