Abnormal Brain Activity Changes in Patients with Migraine: A Short-Term Longitudinal Study

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Whether or not migraine can cause cumulative brain alterations due to frequent migraine-related nociceptive input in patients is largely unclear. The aim of this study was to characterize longitudinal changes in brain activity between repeated observations within a short time interval in a group of female migraine patients, using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. METHODS: Nineteen patients and 20 healthy controls (HC) participated in the study. Regional homogeneity (ReHo) and functional interregional connectivity were assessed to determine the focal and global features of brain dysfunction in migraine. The relationship between changes in headache parameters and longitudinal brain alterations were also investigated. RESULTS: All patients reported that their headache activity increased over time. Abnormal ReHo changes in the patient group relative to the HC were found in the putamen, orbitofrontal cortex, secondary somatosensory cortex, brainstem, and thalamus. Moreover, these brain regions exhibited longitudinal ReHo changes at the 6-week follow-up examination. These headache activity changes were accompanied by disproportionately dysfunctional connectivity in the putamen in the migraine patients, as revealed by functional connectivity analysis, suggesting that the putamen plays an important role in integrating diverse information among other migraine-related brain regions. CONCLUSIONS: The results obtained in this study suggest that progressive brain aberrations in migraine progress as a result of increased headache attacks.