Abstract
A growing number of studies investigate brain anatomy in migraine using voxel- (VBM) and surface-based morphometry (SBM), as well as diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). The purpose of this article is to identify consistent patterns of anatomical alterations associated with migraine. First, 19 migraineurs without aura and 19 healthy participants were included in a brain imaging study. T1-weighted MRIs and DTI sequences were acquired and analyzed using VBM, SBM and tract-based spatial statistics. No significant alterations of gray matter (GM) volume, cortical thickness, cortical gyrification, sulcus depth and white-matter tract integrity could be observed. However, migraineurs displayed decreased white matter (WM) volume in the left superior longitudinal fasciculus. Second, a systematic review of the literature employing VBM, SBM and DTI was conducted to investigate brain anatomy in migraine. Meta-analysis was performed using Seed-based d Mapping via permutation of subject images (SDM-PSI) on GM volume, WM volume and cortical thickness data. Alterations of GM volume, WM volume, cortical thickness or white-matter tract integrity were reported in 72%, 50%, 56% and 33% of published studies respectively. Spatial distribution and direction of the disclosed effects were highly inconsistent across studies. The SDM-PSI analysis revealed neither significant decrease nor significant increase of GM volume, WM volume or cortical thickness in migraine. Overall there is to this day no strong evidence of specific brain anatomical alterations reliably associated to migraine. Possible explanations of this conflicting literature are discussed. Trial registration number: NCT02791997, registrated February 6th, 2015.
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Acknowledgements
The acquisition of imaging data was performed at the CERMEP imaging center in Lyon, we thank Frank Lamberton for his technical assistance. We thank Hesham ElShafei and Lesly Fornoni for their help in recruiting the participants.
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This work was supported by the French National Research Agency (ANR) Grant ANR-14-CE30-0001-01 (to Aurélie Bidet-Caulet and Anne Caclin). This work was performed within the framework of the LABEX CORTEX (ANR-11-LABX-0042) and the LABEX CeLyA (ANR-10-LABX-0060) of Université de Lyon, within the program “Investissements d’Avenir” (ANR-16-IDEX-0005) operated by the French ANR.
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Masson, R., Demarquay, G., Meunier, D. et al. Is Migraine Associated to Brain Anatomical Alterations? New Data and Coordinate-Based Meta-analysis. Brain Topogr 34, 384–401 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10548-021-00824-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10548-021-00824-6