Reduced Fractional Anisotropy of Corpus Callosum Modulates Inter-Hemispheric Resting State Functional Connectivity in Migraine Patients without Aura

Kai Yuan,Limei Zhao,Karen M Von Deneen,Dahua Yu,Minghao Dong,Jixin Liu,Fanrong Liang,Wei Qin,Ling Zhao,Jie Tian,Xuejuan Yang,Peng Liu,Bogdan Draganski

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0045476

Abstract

BackgroundDiffusion tensor imaging (DTI) study revealed reduced fractional anisotropy (FA) values in the corpus callosum (CC) in migraine patients without aura. Abnormalities in white matter integrity, particularly in the CC, may affect inter-hemispheric resting state functional connectivity (RSFC). Unfortunately, relatively little is known about the alterations in functional interactions between the cerebral hemispheres during resting state in migraine patients without aura, and even less about how the inter-hemispheric RSFC are affected by the abnormalities of the CC.Methods and findingsTwenty-one migraine patients without aura and 21 healthy controls participated in this study, age-, sex-, and education-matched. Tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) was employed to investigate the white matter alterations of the CC. Meanwhile, voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) was used to compare the inter-hemispheric RSFC differences between the patients and controls. TBSS analysis revealed reduced FA values in the genu and the splenium of CC in patient group. VMHC analysis showed decreased inter-hemispheric RSFC of anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in migraine patients without aura relative to that of the controls. Furthermore, in migraine patients without aura, the reduced FA values of the genu of CC correlated with the decreased inter-hemispheric RSFC of the ACC.ConclusionsOur findings demonstrated that the migraine patients without aura showed reduced FA values of the genu of CC and decreased inter-hemispheric RSFC of the ACC. The correlation between the above structural and functional changes suggested that the reduced fractional anisotropy (FA) of CC modulates inter-hemispheric VMHC in migraine patients without aura. Our results demonstrated that the VMHC alterations of ACC can reflect the FA changes of the genu of CC in migraine patients without aura.

Highlights

Migraine is an idiopathic headache disorder, characterized as moderate to severe, often unilateral and pulsating headache attacks [1,2]
Our findings demonstrated that the migraine patients without aura showed reduced fractional anisotropy (FA) values of the genu of corpus callosum (CC) and decreased inter-hemispheric resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)
The correlation between the above structural and functional changes suggested that the reduced fractional anisotropy (FA) of CC modulates inter-hemispheric voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) in migraine patients without aura

Summary

Introduction

Migraine is an idiopathic headache disorder, characterized as moderate to severe, often unilateral and pulsating headache attacks [1,2]. Relatively little is known about the alterations in functional interactions between the cerebral hemispheres during resting state in migraine patients without aura, and even less about the association between the inter-hemispheric RSFC changes and the abnormalities of the CC. Relatively little is known about the alterations in functional interactions between the cerebral hemispheres during resting state in migraine patients without aura, and even less about how the inter-hemispheric RSFC are affected by the abnormalities of the CC

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion