title: Evidence for brain morphometric changes during the migraine cycle: a magnetic resonance-based morphometry study.
abstract: Neurophysiological investigations have demonstrated that there are unique fluctuations in the migraine brain functional activity between the ictal and interictal periods. Here we investigated the possibility that there are fluctuations over time also in whole brain morphometry of patients affected by episodic migraine without aura (MO).Twenty-four patients with untreated MO underwent 3T MRI scans during (n = 10) or between attacks (n = 14) and were compared to a group of 15 healthy volunteers (HVs). We then performed voxel-based-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.Interictally, MO patients had a significantly lower gray matter (GM) density within the right inferior parietal lobule, right temporal inferior gyrus, right superior temporal gyrus, and left temporal pole than did HVs. Ictally, GM density increased within the left temporal pole, bilateral insula, and right lenticular nuclei, but no areas exhibited decreased GM density.These morphometric GM changes between ictal and interictal phases 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.
authors.affiliation: G.B. Bietti Foundation IRCCS, Department of Neurophysiology of Vision and Neurophthalmology, Italy gianluca.coppola@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Gianluca
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Coppola
authors.affiliation: G.B. Bietti Foundation IRCCS, Department of Neurophysiology of Vision and Neurophthalmology, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Di Renzo
authors.affiliation: "Sapienza" University of Rome, Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Neuroradiology Section, Italy.
authors.forename: Emanuele
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tinelli
authors.affiliation: "Sapienza" University of Rome, Department of Medico-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, Neurology Section, Italy.
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Iacovelli
authors.affiliation: "Sapienza" University of Rome, Department of Medico-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, Neurology Section, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lepre
authors.affiliation: Don Carlo Gnocchi Onlus Foundation, Italy.
authors.forename: Cherubino
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Di Lorenzo
authors.affiliation: University of Rome "Tor Vergata," Laboratory of Psychophysiology, Psychiatric Clinic, Department of Systems Medicine, Italy.
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Di Lorenzo
authors.affiliation: "Sapienza" University of Rome Polo Pontino, Department of Medico-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, Italy.
authors.forename: Davide
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Di Lenola
authors.affiliation: G.B. Bietti Foundation IRCCS, Department of Neurophysiology of Vision and Neurophthalmology, Italy.
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Parisi
authors.affiliation: "Sapienza" University of Rome Polo Pontino, Department of Medico-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, Italy.
authors.forename: Mariano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Serrao
authors.affiliation: "Sapienza" University of Rome, Department of Medico-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, Neurology Section, Italy.
authors.forename: Flavia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pauri
authors.affiliation: "Sapienza" University of Rome, Department of Medico-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, Neurology Section, Italy.
authors.forename: Giancarlo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fiermonte
authors.affiliation: "Sapienza" University of Rome, Department of Medico-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, Neurology Section, Italy.
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bianco
authors.affiliation: IRCCS Neuromed, Pozzilli (IS), Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pierelli
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000473:pathology*
keywords: Migraine; ictal; interictal; neuroplasticity; voxel-based morphometry