Differences in cortical morphometry between persistent post-traumatic headache, migraine and healthy controls

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Neuroimaging
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Persistent post-traumatic headache (PTH) is a common and debilitating neurological condition.
• It is often linked to mild traumatic brain injury and shares clinical similarities with migraine.
• The specific brain changes associated with persistent PTH are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate cortical morphometric differences in individuals with persistent PTH compared to migraine patients and healthy controls.
• To identify potential neurobiological substrates underlying persistent PTH.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study using 3T structural MRI.
• Included 103 adults with persistent PTH, 296 with migraine, and 155 healthy controls.
• Cortical surface area, thickness, and volume were analyzed using FreeSurfer with statistical corrections.

Main Results:

• Participants with persistent PTH showed significantly larger surface area in the right anterior and posterior cingulate cortex compared to healthy controls.
• Enlarged surface area was also observed in the right superior parietal cortex/postcentral gyrus in the PTH group versus controls.
• No significant morphometric differences were found between persistent PTH and migraine groups.

Conclusions:

• Persistent PTH is associated with distinct cortical morphometric alterations, particularly in pain-processing areas like the mid-cingulate and somatosensory cortex.
• These findings suggest a potential shared neurobiological basis between persistent PTH and migraine.
• The observed cortical enlargements may represent adaptive changes in response to sustained pain signals in persistent PTH.