QUESTION: I collected all the data from fMRI and PET studies related to a disorder and a given brain region of interest. Should I use a mask of the region to perform my analysis?

RESPONSE: Note that one of the main aims of SDM (or similar software) is to *localize* the abnormalities. If you are interested in localizing the abnormalities in the brain, you should only include papers potentially reporting findings in all the brain. Conversely, if you are only interested in localizing the abnormalities within the specific brain region, it may be Ok to also include other papers as far as they may potentially report findings in the specific brain region. In the latter case, however, you should probably limit the meta-analysis to the specific brain region using a mask.