Search

O028. Thalamo-cortical network changes during the migraine cycle: insights from MRI-based microstructural and functional resting-state network correlation analysis Gianluca Coppola, Antonio Di Renzo, Emanuele Tinelli, Chiara Lepre, Elisa Iacovelli, Cherubino Di Lorenzo, Giorgio Di Lorenzo, Vincenzo Parisi, Mariano Serrao, Flavia Pauri, Giancarlo Fiermonte, Claudio Colonnese, Jean Schoenen, Francesco Pierelli

Background Neurophysiological investigations have demonstrated that there are distinctive fluctuations in the brain’ se lectric signals between the ictal and interictal periods of recurrent migraine. Whether structural plasticity of the brain is also an important feature of episodic migraine remains unresolved. Aim We therefore investigated the possibility that there are fluctuations over time in whole brain grey matter morphometry of patients affected by episodic migraine without aura (MO). Method Twenty-four patients with untreated MO underwent MRI scans (3-Tesla Siemens Verio) during (n = 10) or between attacks (n = 14) and were compared to a group of 15 healthy volunteers (HV). We then performed voxelbased-morphometry (VBM) analysis of structural T1-weighted MRI scans to determine if changes in brain structure were observed over the course of the migraine cycle. Results During the interictal phase, MO patients had a significantly lower grey matter (GM) density within the right inferior parietal lobule, right temporal inferior gyrus, right superior temporal gyrus, and left temporal pole than did HV. During attacks, GM density increased within the left temporal pole, bilateral insula, and right lenticular nuclei, but no areas exhibited decreased GM density. Conclusion The morphometric GM changes between ictal and interictal phases reported in the present study suggest that abnormal structural plasticity may be an important mechanism of migraine pathology. Given the functional neuroanatomy of these areas, our findings suggest that migraine is a condition associated with global dysfunction of multisensory integration and memory processing. No conflict of interest.

Background and objectives Studies of spontaneous EEG and visual or somatosensory evoked high frequency oscillations indicate that the abnormal fluctuations of cortical responsivity over time in relation to the migraine attack could be due to abnormal thalamic control. Here we searched for possible structural changes in the thalamus of migraineurs by mean of acquiring diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This MRI technique provides quantitative data on water molecular motion, as a marker of tissue structure. Materials & Method – Seventeen untreated migraine without aura (MO) patients underwent MRI scan (3-Tesla Siemens Gyroscan) during (n=7) and between attacks (n=10) and were compared to a group of 14 healthy volunteers (HV). We examined fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) in the thalamus.