Limbic system abnormalities in episodic cluster headache: a 7T MRI multimodal study

作者：Xinyu Wang, Lu‐Hua Zhang, Yongqin Xiong, Mengmeng Hou, Shuhua Zhang, Caohui Duan, Song Wang, Xiaoyu Wang, Haoxuan Lu, Jiayu Huang, Yan Li, Zhi‐Xuan Li, Zhao Dong, Xin Lou · 发表于：The Journal of Headache and Pain · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1186/s10194-025-02009-z · 被引用次数：8 · 研究领域：Migraine and Headache Studies、Functional Brain Connectivity Studies、Trigeminal Neuralgia and Treatments

BACKGROUND: Although the limbic system has long been thought to be involved in the pathophysiology of cluster headache, inconsistencies in imaging studies of episodic cluster headache (eCH) patients and limited understanding of the specific regions within the limbic system have prevented a full explanation of its involvement in the disease. Therefore, we performed multimodal imaging analysis using 7 T MRI with the aim of exploring structural-functional abnormalities in subregions of the limbic system and their relationship with clinical features. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, we employed 7T MRI to investigate structural (volumetric) and functional (fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF), regional homogeneity (ReHo)) alterations in limbic subregions (hypothalamus, thalamus, amygdala, hippocampus) among 69 in-bout but outside the attacks eCH patients and 63 healthy controls (HCs). Automated volumetry and resting-state functional MRI analyses were performed after adjusting for age, Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale, sex (and intracranial volume when evaluating volumetric measures). Then functional-structural coupling indices were computed to assess network-level relationships. RESULTS: In eCH patients, volumes in right anterior inferior and right posterior of hypothalamus, left molecular_layer_hippocampal-head, left lateral-nucleus and left Central-nucleus on the headache side, as well as left tuberal inferior and left tuberal superior of hypothala...