Cortical Sulcal Abnormalities Revealed by Sulcal Morphometry in Patients with Chronic and Episodic Migraine

Shanyu Liu; Xiaolin Hou; Min Shi; Yuling Shen; Zhaoying Li; Zhenzhu Hu; Dongdong Yang

doi:10.2147/JPR.S447148

Cortical Sulcal Abnormalities Revealed by Sulcal Morphometry in Patients with Chronic and Episodic Migraine

J Pain Res. 2024 Feb 1:17:477-488. doi: 10.2147/JPR.S447148. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Shanyu Liu^#^{1

2}, Xiaolin Hou^#³, Min Shi¹, Yuling Shen^{1

2}, Zhaoying Li^{1

2}, Zhenzhu Hu^{1

2}, Dongdong Yang¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurology, Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, People's Republic of China.
² School of Clinical Medicine, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, People's Republic of China.
³ Department of Neurosurgery, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, People's Republic of China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Purpose: Previous studies have reported mixed results regarding the importance of cortical abnormalities in patients with migraines. However, cortical sulci, as a component of the cerebral cortex, have not been specifically investigated in migraine patients. Therefore, we aim to evaluate alterations in cortical sulcal morphology among patients with chronic migraine (CM), episodic migraine (EM), and healthy controls (HCs).

Patients and methods: In this cross-sectional study, structural magnetic resonance images were acquired from 35 patients with CM, 35 with EM, and 35 HCs. Cortical sulci were identified and reconstructed using the BrainVisa 5.0.4 software. We focused on regions involved in pain processing in which abnormal cortical structure were identified in previous neuroimaging studies. Morphometric analysis was performed to calculate sulcal parameters including mean depth, cortical thickness, and opening width. Partial correlation analyses of clinical characteristics and sulcal parameters were performed for CM, EM and the combined migraine (CM + EM) groups.

Results: In comparison with HCs, both CM and EM groups showed increased opening width in bilateral insula. In comparison with HC and EM groups, CM patients showed increased cortical thickness in bilateral superior postcentral sulcus, bilateral median frontal sulcus and left superior parietal sulcus, as well as increased mean depth in the left anterior callosomarginal fissure and decreased mean depth in bilateral superior frontal sulcus and left median frontal sulcus. Migraine frequency and disease duration were both correlated with cortical thickness in bilateral superior postcentral sulcus.

Conclusion: Abnormal sulcal morphometry primarily affected areas associated with pain processing in patients with migraine, with CM exhibiting more extensive abnormalities in areas related to sensory and affective processing. These changes may contribute to understanding the pathology of EM and CM.

Keywords: chronic migraine; cortical thickness; episodic migraine; mean depth; opening width; sulcal morphometry.

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the 2019 “Xinglin Scholars” Subject Talent Research Promotion Plan (Project No: ZYTS2019028), Chengdu university of traditional Chinese medicine.