Altered functional brain imaging in migraine patients: BOLD preliminary study in migraine with and without aura

Migraine is regarded as a complex brain dysfunction of sensory and modulatory networks with the secondary sensitisation of the trigeminal system as well as the affected brain area's activities. The particular role of the hippocampus and the brainstem in the first phase of the attack, the disrupted cognitive network, and the activation of the limbic and visual systems, are the main discoveries in the field of migraine imaging that have been achieved using functional techniques. Thus advanced neuroimaging has been widely employed to study the pathogenesis of migraine.

The evaluation of fMRI BOLD images of migraine patients with or without aura, with particular attention to the interictal phase.

The aim of this study was to compare brain activity during visual stimuli by fMRI BOLD in the interictal phase (black and white checkerboard tests, static or flickering) of 16 migraine patients, eight with aura and eight without.

We demonstrated differences in the right part of the brainstem, the left part of the cerebellum, and in the right middle temporal gyrus. However, the bilateral brain activation in the occipital and frontal lobe remained similar.

Results of our preliminary study suggest that migraine with aura and migraine without aura might be separate disorders, and this requires further investigation.