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Updated: Dec 30, 2025
3D-Neuronavigation In Vivo Through a Patient's Brain During a Spontaneous Migraine Headache
Published on: June 2, 2014
An fMRI-based neural marker for migraine without aura
Yiheng Tu1, Fang Zeng1, Lei Lan1
1From the Department of Psychiatry (Y.T., N.M., J.P., C.L., J.K.), Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown; The Third Teaching Hospital (F.Z., L.L., Z.L., F.L.), Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Sichuan; Department of Radiology (B.L., J.C.), Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China; Center for Complementary and Integrative Medicine (C.W.), Division of Rheumatology, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA; Traditional Chinese Medicine School (G.Y), Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan; The Acupuncture and Tuina School (M.L.), Hunan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Changsha, China; The Mind Research Network (Z.F.), Albuquerque, NM; and School of Biomedical Engineering (Z.Z.), Health Science Center, Shenzhen University, China.
Researchers identified a novel functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) neural marker for migraine without aura (MwoA). This marker shows potential for tracking disease progression and treatment response in MwoA patients.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Medical Diagnostics
- Pain Research
Background:
- Migraine without aura (MwoA) is a prevalent neurological disorder.
- Objective diagnostic markers for MwoA are lacking.
- Understanding the neural underpinnings of MwoA is crucial for developing effective treatments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and validate a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)-based neural marker for MwoA.
- To assess the association between this neural marker and treatment response in MwoA.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional studies utilizing resting-state fMRI data from 230 participants.
- Machine learning analyses for marker identification and validation.
- Clinical trial data (real/sham acupuncture) to assess marker-treatment response correlation.
Main Results:
- A neural marker with abnormal functional connectivity was identified, discriminating MwoA from healthy controls with high sensitivity and specificity (up to 93%).
- The marker demonstrated generalizability across independent cohorts and specificity against other chronic pain disorders.
- Changes in the neural marker correlated significantly with reduced headache frequency following real acupuncture treatment.
Conclusions:
- An fMRI-based neural marker for MwoA has been successfully identified and validated.
- This marker captures distinct neural characteristics of MwoA and shows potential for linking disease patterns to brain changes.
- The marker may serve as a tool for monitoring disease progression and evaluating treatment efficacy in MwoA.
