Temporal lobe cortical thickness correlations differentiate the migraine brain from the healthy brain

Interregional cortical thickness correlations reflect underlying brain structural connectivity and functional connectivity. A few prior studies have shown that migraine is associated with atypical cortical brain structure and atypical functional connectivity amongst cortical regions that participate in sensory processing. However, the specific brain regions that most accurately differentiate the migraine brain from the healthy brain have yet to be determined. The aim of this study was to identify the brain regions that comprised interregional cortical thickness correlations that most differed between migraineurs and healthy controls.

This was a cross-sectional brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) investigation of 64 adults with migraine and 39 healthy control subjects recruited from tertiary-care medical centers and their surrounding communities. All subjects underwent structural brain MRI imaging on a 3T scanner. Cortical thickness was determined for 70 brain regions that cover the cerebral cortex and cortical thickness correlations amongst these regions were calculated. Cortical thickness correlations that best differentiated groups of six migraineurs from controls and vice versa were identified.

A model containing 15 interregional cortical thickness correlations differentiated groups of migraineurs from healthy controls with high accuracy. The right temporal pole was involved in 13 of the 15 interregional correlations while the right middle temporal cortex was involved in the other two.

A model consisting of 15 interregional cortical thickness correlations accurately differentiates the brains of small groups of migraineurs from those of healthy controls. Correlations with the right temporal pole were highly represented in this classifier, suggesting that this region plays an important role in migraine pathophysiology.