Abstract
BackgroundResting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (Rs-fMRI) has confirmed sensorimotor network (SMN) dysfunction in migraine without aura (MwoA). However, the underlying mechanisms of SMN effective functional connectivity in MwoA remain unclear. We aimed to explore the association between clinical characteristics and effective functional connectivity in SMN, in interictal patients who have MwoA.MethodsWe used Rs-fMRI to acquire imaging data in 40 episodic patients with MwoA in the interictal phase and 34 healthy controls (HCs). Independent component analysis was used to profile the distribution of SMN and calculate the different SMN activity between the two groups. Subsequently, Granger causality analysis was used to analyze the effective functional connectivity between the SMN and other brain regions.ResultsCompared to the HCs, MwoA patients showed higher activity in the bilateral postcentral gyri (PoCG), but lower activity in the left midcingulate cortex (MCC). Moreover, MwoA patients showed decreased effective functional connectivity from the SMN to left middle temporal gyrus, right putamen, left insula and bilateral precuneus, but increased effective functional connectivity to the right paracentral lobule. There was also significant effective functional connectivity from the primary visual cortex, right cuneus and right putamen to the SMN. In the interictal period, there was positive correlation between the activity of the right PoCG and the frequency of headache. The disease duration was positively correlated with abnormal effective functional connectivity from the left PoCG to right precuneus. In addition, the headache impact scores were negatively correlated with abnormal effective functional connectivity from the left MCC to right paracentral lobule, as well as from the right precuneus to left PoCG.ConclusionsThese differential, resting-state functional activities of the SMN in episodic MwoA may contribute to the understanding of migraine-related intra- and internetwork imbalances associated with nociceptive regulation and chronification.
Highlights
Migraine is an incapacitating neurological disorder, typically characterized by unilateral, throbbing or pulsating headaches, and the second-largest contributor to global neurological disorders, after stroke [1]
Previous migraine resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (Rs-fMRI) studies have demonstrated functional alterations in some sensorimotor network (SMN) subregions associated with pain and cognition [7, 8]
The disease duration was positively correlated with abnormal effective functional connectivity from the left postcentral gyri (PoCG) to the right precuneus (r = 0.294, p = 0.041)
Summary
Migraine is an incapacitating neurological disorder, typically characterized by unilateral, throbbing or pulsating headaches, and the second-largest contributor to global neurological disorders, after stroke [1]. A migraine attack is a somatic perturbation, and a sensory dysfunction that amplifies light, sound or touch perceptions in both ictal and interictal phases [3]. These characteristics make migraine a somatosensory disorder that eventually induce aberrant neuroplastic alterations in the central nervous system (CNS). Previous migraine resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (Rs-fMRI) studies have demonstrated functional alterations in some SMN subregions associated with pain and cognition [7, 8]. We aimed to explore the association between clinical characteristics and effective functional connectivity in SMN, in interictal patients who have MwoA
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