Background: Formerly white matter abnormalities in a mixed group of migraine patients with and without aura were shown. Here, we aimed to explore white matter alterations in a homogeneous group of migraineurs with aura and to delineate possible relationships between white matter changes and clinical variables.Methods: Eighteen patients with aura, 25 migraine patients without aura and 28 controls were scanned on a 1.5T MRI scanner. Diffusivity parameters of the white matter were estimated and compared between patients’ groups and controls using whole-brain tract-based spatial statistics.Results: Decreased radial diffusivity (p < 0.036) was found bilaterally in the parieto-occipital white matter, the corpus callosum, and the cingular white matter of migraine with aura (MwA) patients compared to controls. Migraine without aura (MwoA) patients showed no alteration compared to controls. MwA compared to MwoA showed increased fractional anisotropy (p < 0.048) in the left parieto-occipital white matter. In MwA a negative correlation was found between axial diffusivity and disease duration in the left superior longitudinal fascicle (left parieto-occipital region) and in the left corticospinal tract (p < 0.036) and with the number of the attacks in the right superior longitudinal fascicle (p < 0.048).Conclusion: We showed for the first time that there are white matter microstructural differences between these two subgroups of migraine and hence it is important to handle the two groups separately in further researches. We propose that degenerative and maladaptive plastic changes coexist in the disease and the diffusion profile is a result of these processes.

BackgroundMigraine is one of the most severe primary headache disorders. The nature of the headache and the associated symptoms during the attack suggest underlying functional alterations in the brain. In this study, we examined amplitude, the resting state fMRI fluctuation in migraineurs with and without aura (MWA, MWoA respectively) and healthy controls.MethodsResting state functional MRI images and T1 high-resolution images were acquired from all participants. For data analysis we compared the groups (MWA-Control, MWA-MWoA, MWoA-Control). The resting state networks were identified by MELODIC. The mean time courses of the networks were identified for each participant for all networks. The time-courses were decomposed into five frequency bands by discrete wavelet decomposition. The amplitude of the frequency-specific activity was compared between groups. Furthermore, the preprocessed resting state images were decomposed by wavelet analysis into five specific frequency bands voxel-wise. The voxel-wise amplitudes were compared between groups by non-parametric permutation test.ResultsIn the MWA-Control comparison the discrete wavelet decomposition found alterations in the lateral visual network. Higher activity was measured in the MWA group in the highest frequency band (0.16–0.08 Hz).In case of the MWA-MWoA comparison all networks showed higher activity in the 0.08–0.04 Hz frequency range in MWA, and the lateral visual network in in higher frequencies.In MWoA-Control comparison only the default mode network revealed decreased activity in MWoA group in the 0.08–0.04 Hz band.The voxel-wise frequency specific analysis of the amplitudes found higher amplitudes in MWA as compared to MWoA in the in fronto-parietal regions, anterior cingulate cortex and cerebellum.DiscussionThe amplitude of the resting state fMRI activity fluctuation is higher in MWA than in MWoA. These results are in concordance with former studies, which found cortical hyperexcitability in MWA.

Effects of gender on grey matter (GM) volume differences in subcortical structures of the human brain have consistently been reported. Recent research evidence suggests that both gender and brain size influences volume distribution in subcortical areas independently. The goal of this study was to determine the effects of the interplay between brain size, gender and age contributing to volume differences of subcortical GM in the human brain. High-resolution T1-weighted images were acquired from 53 healthy males and 50 age-matched healthy females. Total GM volume was determined using voxel-based morphometry. We used model-based subcortical segmentation analysis to measure the volume of subcortical nuclei. Main effects of gender, brain volume and aging on subcortical structures were examined using multivariate analysis of variance. No significant difference was found in total brain volume between the two genders after correcting for total intracranial volume. Our analysis revealed significantly larger hippocampus volume for females. Additionally, GM volumes of the caudate nucleus, putamen and thalamus displayed a significant age-related decrease in males as compared to females. In contrast to this only the thalamic volume loss proved significant for females. Strikingly, GM volume decreases faster in males than in females emphasizing the interplay between aging and gender on subcortical structures. These findings might have important implications for the interpretation of the effects of unalterable factors (i.e. gender and age) in cross-sectional structural MRI studies. Furthermore, the volume distribution and changes of subcortical structures have been consistently related to several neuropsychiatric disorders (e.g. Parkinson's disease, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, etc.). Understanding these changes might yield further insight in the course and prognosis of these disorders.

Background: Migraine research is booming with the rapidly developing neuroimaging tools. Structural and functional alterations of the migrainous brain were detected with MRI. The outcome of a research study largely depends on the working hypothesis, on the chosen measurement approach and also on the subject selection. Against all evidence from the literature that migraine subtypes are different, most of the studies handle migraine with and without aura as one disease.Methods: Publications from PubMed database were searched for terms of “migraine with aura,” “migraine without aura,” “interictal,” “MRI,” “diffusion weighted MRI,” “functional MRI,” “compared to,” “atrophy” alone and in combination.Conclusion: Only a few imaging studies compared the two subforms of the disease, migraine with aura, and without aura, directly. Functional imaging investigations largely agree that there is an increased activity/activation of the brain in migraine with aura as compared to migraine without aura. We propose that this might be the signature of cortical hyperexcitability. However, structural investigations are not equivocal. We propose that variable contribution of parallel, competing mechanisms of maladaptive plasticity and neurodegeneration might be the reason behind the variable results.