Aberrant brain functional connectome in migrainures revealed by resting-state fMRI

Abstract

Previous studies have shown abnormalities in brain functional networks in different brain regions in migraineures, but the neural mechanisms underlying the whole brain functional connectome in migraineures remain unclear. We used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) to study abnormalities in the functional connectome of migraineures. In this study, we collected rsfMRI data from 39 migraineures and 17 healthy controls. The network-based statistic method was used to evaluate functional connectome differences between the two groups. We used Pearson correlation analysis to explore the relationship between abnormal functional connectivity and clinical characterisation. After network-based statistic analysis (p < 0.01, permutation = 500), compared to healthy controls, migraineurs showed an abnormal subnetwork of 76 nodes and 179 edges. The nodes were mainly located in the basal ganglia and sensorimotor areas. Functional connectivities between the caudate nucleus and occipital lobe and sensorimotor areas were significant positive correlated with visual analogue scale (p < 0.02). Abnormalities in the functional connectivity of the basal ganglia and sensorimotor areas are involved in the pathological mechanisms of migraine, while the caudate nucleus is a potential imaging marker for migraine.