TY - JOUR
A2 - Brighina, Filippo
AU - Cao, Zhijian
AU - Yu, Wenjing
AU - Zhang, Zhengxiang
AU - Xu, Maosheng
AU - Lin, Jiangnan
AU - Zhang, Luping
AU - Song, Wenwen
PY - 2022
DA - 2022/01/25
TI - Decreased Gray Matter Volume in the Frontal Cortex of Migraine Patients with Associated Functional Connectivity Alterations: A VBM and rs-FC Study
SP - 2115956
VL - 2022
AB - Background. Resting-state functional MRI is widely used in migraine research. However, the pathophysiology and imaging markers specific for migraine pathologies are not well understood. In this study, we combined both structural and functional images to explore the concurrence and process of migraines. Methods. Thirty-four patients with a history of migraine without aura presenting during the interictal period (MwoA-DI), 10 patients with migraine without aura presenting during the acute attack (MwoA-DA), and 32 healthy controls (HCs) were recruited in this study. All participants underwent scanning via MRI. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and seed-based resting-state functional connectivity (rs-FC) analysis were used to detect the brain structural and associated brain functional connectivity. Results. In VBM analysis, a decrease of gray matter volume (GMV) in the middle frontal cortex was found in MwoA patients compared with HCs. The GMV of the middle frontal cortex had a negative correction with the duration of disease. In rs-FC analysis, the left middle frontal cortex (lower, VBM result) in both the MwoA-DA and the HC groups showed significantly increased functional connectivity with the left middle frontal cortex (upper) and left superior frontal cortex compared with MwoA-DI. The left middle frontal cortex (lower) in the MwoA-DI group also showed decreased functional connectivity in the left posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) compared with the HC group. The left middle frontal cortex (lower) in the MwoA-DA group demonstrated significantly increased functional connectivity in the left cerebellum lobule VI compared with the HC group. Conclusions. Our results demonstrated that the middle frontal cortex may serve as an important target in the frequency and severity of migraines due to its role in pain regulation through the default mode network, especially in the PCC. In addition, the cerebellum may modulate the pathophysiology of migraines by serving as a communication point between the cortex and the brainstem.
SN - 1203-6765
UR - https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/2115956
DO - 10.1155/2022/2115956
JF - Pain Research and Management
PB - Hindawi
KW -
ER -