Abnormalities of Thalamic Functional Connectivity in Patients with Migraine: A Resting-State fMRI Study

Zi-Min Cao; Yi-Chao Chen; Guo-Yun Liu; Xu Wang; An-Qi Shi; Lu-Fan Xu; Zhi-Jun Li; Jian-Wei Huo; Ya-Nan Zhang; Ni Liu; Chao-Qun Yan; Jun Wang

doi:10.1007/s40122-022-00365-1

Abnormalities of Thalamic Functional Connectivity in Patients with Migraine: A Resting-State fMRI Study

Pain Ther. 2022 Jun;11(2):561-574. doi: 10.1007/s40122-022-00365-1. Epub 2022 Feb 27.

Authors

Zi-Min Cao¹, Yi-Chao Chen¹, Guo-Yun Liu¹, Xu Wang¹, An-Qi Shi¹, Lu-Fan Xu¹, Zhi-Jun Li¹, Jian-Wei Huo², Ya-Nan Zhang², Ni Liu², Chao-Qun Yan³, Jun Wang⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Dongzhimen Hospital Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Hai Yun Cang on the 5th Zip, Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100700, China.
² Department of Radiology, Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine Affiliated to Capital Medical University, 23 Meishuguanhou Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100010, China.
³ Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Dongzhimen Hospital Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Hai Yun Cang on the 5th Zip, Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100700, China. yanchaoqun857@126.com.
⁴ Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Dongzhimen Hospital Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Hai Yun Cang on the 5th Zip, Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100700, China. wangjunee@yeah.net.

Abstract

Introduction: Migraine is a common headache disorder. Many studies have used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to explore the possible pathogenesis of migraine, but they have not reached consistent conclusions and lack rigorous multiple comparison correction. Thus, this study investigates the mechanisms of migraine development from the perspective of altered functional connectivity (FC) in brain regions by using data-driven and regions of interest (ROI)-based approaches.

Methods: Resting-state functional MRI data were collected from 30 patients with migraine and 40 healthy controls (HCs) matched for age, gender, and years of education. For the data-driven method, we used a voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) approach to compare the FC between the patients and HCs. For the ROI-based method, significant differences in VMHC maps between the patients and HCs were defined as ROI. The seed-based approach further revealed significant differences in FC between the seeds and the other brain regions. Furthermore, the correlations between abnormal FC and clinical characteristics of patients were investigated. A rigorous multiple comparison correction was used with false discovery rate and permutation test (5000 times).

Results: In comparison with the controls group, patients showed enhanced VMHC in the bilateral thalamus. We also observed enhanced FC between the left thalamus and the left superior frontal gyrus, and increased FC between the right thalamus and the left middle frontal gyrus (Brodmann area 45 and Brodmann area 8) in patients. Further analysis showed that the FC values in the left superior frontal gyrus and left middle frontal gyrus were negatively corrected with visual analogue scale scores or attack times for headaches.

Conclusions: Patients with migraine showed altered VMHC in the bilateral thalamus, and abnormal FC of bilateral thalamus and other brain regions. The abnormalities in thalamic FC are a likely mechanism for the development of migraine.

Trial registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR2000033995. Registered on 20 June 2020.

Keywords: Functional connectivity; Migraine; Thalamus; Voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity; fMRI.

Abstract

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