White matter and cortical gray matter microstructural alterations in migraine: a NODDI and DTI analysis

作者：Zhilei Li, Yanliang Mei, Lei Wang, Tianhua Fan, Cheng Peng, Kaibo Zhang, Shouyi Wu, Tong Chen, Zhenchang Zhang, Binbin Sui, Yonggang Wang, Xueying Yu · 发表于：The Journal of Headache and Pain · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1186/s10194-025-02059-3 · 被引用次数：8 · 研究领域：Migraine and Headache Studies、Functional Brain Connectivity Studies、Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications

BACKGROUND: The pathophysiological mechanism of migraine remains elusive, thereby impeding the effective treatment of the disease. Current neuroimaging research focuses on changes in brain functional connectivity, functional networks, and macrostructural alterations, which reflect abnormal neuronal function during the disease process. The plasticity changes in neuronal structures and neurotransmitter system dysregulations potentially play a crucial role in migraine onset and chronicity of migraine. This study utilizes multimodal neuroimaging techniques to investigate the microstructural and neurotransmitter alterations in migraine and provides new insights into its pathological mechanisms and therapeutic method. METHODS: Microstructural alterations in both white matter (WM) and cortical gray matter (GM) were evaluated among 40 chronic migraine (CM) patients, 35 episodic migraine (EM) patients, and 45 healthy controls (HCs) using Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) and Neurite Orientation Dispersion and Density Imaging (NODDI) models. Tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) and Surface-based analysis (SBA) were performed to compare groupwise differences in white and gray matter microstructure, respectively. Furthermore, the cross-modal toolbox JuSpace was used to analyze the correlation between cortical gray matter neurite alterations and neurotransmitter. RESULTS: In the WM, compared to HC, a decrease in neurite density index (NDI) was identified in the migraine group, and both NDI ...