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Related Experiment Video

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Monocular Visual Deprivation and Ocular Dominance Plasticity Measurement in the Mouse Primary Visual Cortex

Monocular Visual Deprivation and Ocular Dominance Plasticity Measurement in the Mouse Primary Visual Cortex

Published on: February 8, 2020

Migraine with visual aura associated with thicker visual cortex.

David Gaist^1,2, Anders Hougaard³, Ellen Garde⁴

¹Department of Neurology, Odense University Hospital, Denmark, Odense, Denmark.

Brain : a Journal of Neurology

|January 24, 2018

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Females with migraine with aura show increased cortical thickness in visual brain areas. This finding suggests a potential inherent trait rather than a consequence of repeated aura attacks, impacting migraine research.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Radiology
Genetics

Background:

Migraine with aura was traditionally considered a functional disorder without structural brain impact.
Recent MRI studies suggest altered cortical thickness in visual and somatosensory areas in migraine with aura patients.
Conflicting results in prior studies highlight the need for robust investigations, potentially using twin registries.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate cortical thickness differences in visual and somatosensory areas in female migraine with aura patients.
To determine if observed cortical thickness variations are an inherent trait or a result of aura attacks.
To compare cortical thickness between migraine with aura patients, their co-twins, and migraine-free controls.

Main Methods:

Cross-sectional study involving 166 female migraine with aura patients, 30 co-twins, and 137 controls (aged 30-60).
Brain MRI scans were performed and cortical thickness assessed in predefined visual (V1, V2, V3A, MT) and somatosensory areas.
Analysis included comparisons between patients and controls, adjusted for confounders, and analysis of discordant twin pairs.

Main Results:

Patients with migraine with aura exhibited significantly thicker cortex in visual areas V2 and V3A compared to controls.
No statistically significant differences in cortical thickness were found in areas V1, MT, or the somatosensory cortex.
Cortical thickness differences in V2 were also observed in migraine with aura discordant twin pairs, suggesting an inherent trait.

Conclusions:

Females with migraine with aura demonstrate increased cortical thickness in specific visual processing areas.
The findings suggest that these cortical alterations may represent an inherent trait associated with migraine with aura.
Further research is warranted to elucidate the mechanisms and implications of these structural brain differences in migraine.