Dear Joaquim,
I'm using SDM 4.31 for a meta-analysis using T-maps as inputs.
I noticed that the regions where I get the most significant results are also those where I see the highest between-study heterogeneity (significant z values in the QH map).
Should I be worried about this?
Thanks a lot for your insight.
Best,
Guillaume

I forgot to mention that my meta-analysis compares patients and controls, and I read in your 2012 paper (in European Psychiatry) that "It must be also commented that regions with differences between patients and controls may be falsely detected as heterogeneous because of the discrepancy between the real effect sizes from studies reporting peaks and the null effect sizes from studies not reporting peaks".
This is why I'm unsure about whether high heterogeneity is worrisome in my case, and which kind of analysis would be best suited to relieve this concern (jacknife analysis, funnel plot of effect sizes?).
Again, thanks a lot for your help!
Best,
Guillaume

Dear Guillaume,

as you say, current ES-SDM may overdetect heterogeneity. But in any case I think that the potential presence of heterogeneity should not worry you. Rather, I would just report that samples *might* be heterogeneous in those regions, and if possible, I would try to explain this heterogeneity using subgroup / meta-regression analyses.

Hope this helps,

Joaquim

Thanks a lot for the clarification Joaquim, that's very helpful!
Best,
Guillaume