Data from: Gray matter volume modifications in migraine: a cross-sectional and longitudinal study

Objective. To explore cross-sectional and longitudinal gray matter (GM)
volume changes in migraine patients and their association with patients’
clinical characteristics and disease activity. Methods. Brain T2-weighted
and 3D T1-weighted scans were acquired from 73 episodic migraineurs and 46
age- and sex-matched non-migraine controls at baseline. Twenty-four
migraineurs and 25 controls agreed to be re-examined after a mean
follow-up of 4 years. Using a general linear model and SPM12, a
whole-brain analysis was performed to assess GM volume modifications.
Results. At baseline, compared to controls, migraine patients showed lower
cerebellar GM volume and higher volume of regions of the fronto-temporal
lobes. At follow-up, migraineurs were significantly older than controls.
Over the follow-up, migraineurs developed an increased volume of
fronto-temporo-parietal regions, which was more prominent in patients with
a higher baseline disease activity: long disease duration and high attack
frequency. Migraineurs also developed decreased GM volume of visual areas,
which was related to higher pain severity. Patients with an increased
attack frequency at follow-up experienced both increased and decreased
volume of nociceptive regions. In migraineurs, reduced GM volume of
extrastriate visual areas during the follow-up was significantly
correlated to baseline disease activity: shorter disease duration and
lower attack frequency. Conclusion. In this cohort, the migraine brain
changes dynamically over time and different pathophysiological mechanisms
can occur in response to patients’ disease severity. The interaction
between predisposing brain traits and experience-dependent responses might
vary across different nociceptive and visual areas, thus leading to
distinct patterns of longitudinal GM volume changes.