Assessment Of The Functional Connectivity Of Brain Networks In Patients With Migraine Without Aura And With Vestibular Migraine Based On Independent Component Analysis

Objective: Independent component analysis(ICA)was used to study the functional connections within and between the brain networks of migraine without aura(MwoA)and vestibular migraine(VM),which have many similarities in clinical manifestations,the correlation between the changes of brain network function connection and clinical data was also analyzed,to explore the pathogenesis and the relationship between them.Materials and Methods: Rs-f MRI data were collected from 34 patients with MwoA,34 patients with VM,and 33 healthy controls(HCs)who were matched for age,sex,and education.From patients with MwoA and VM,we obtained migraine duration(years),migraine frequency(days/month),visual analog scale(VAS)score,and Migraine Disability Assessment Scale(MIDAS)score.We also obtained VM duration(years),VM frequency(days/month),and the Dizziness Handicap Inventory(DHI)score from patients with VM.Functional networks were identified and extracted from rs-f MRI data by ICA.One-way analysis of variance was applied to compare the difference of functional connectivity among the three groups.Furthermore,the functional connections between and within the networks of MwoA and VM were correlated with the course of disease,seizure frequency,VAS,MIDAS and DHI scores.Results:(1)Eleven functional networks were isolated from participants’ rs-f MRI data using the ICA method,including: sensorimotor network(SMN);anterior and posterior default mode networks(a DMN and p DMN);lateral,posterior medial,and anterior medial visual networks(l VN,pm VN,and am VN);left and right frontoparietal networks(l FPN and r FPN);auditory network(AN);and dorsal and ventral attention networks(DAN and VAN).(2)The functional connectivity of the right medial superior frontal gyrus in a DMN,the left angular gyrus in DAN,the left cuneiform lobe in pm VN,the right central sulcus lid in AN,and the right Supplementary motor area in SMN were significantly different among the MwoA,VM,and HCs groups(p < 0.05).(3)Compared with HCs,the functional connectivity of the right medial superior frontal gyrus in a DMN,the left angular gyrus in DAN,and the right Supplementary motor area in SMN were significantly enhanced in MwoA patients,while the functional connectivity of the right central sulcus lid in AN was significantly weakened(p < 0.05).Compared with HCs,the functional connectivity of right medial superior frontal gyrus posterior in a DMN,left cuneiform lobe in pm VN and right central sulcus lid in AN was significantly weakened in VM patients(p < 0.05).Compared with MwoA,the functional connectivity of right medial superior frontal gyrus in a DMN,the left angular gyrus in DAN and the left cuneiform lobe in pm VN was significantly weakened in VM patients(p < 0.05).(4)There were four pairs of functional connections in the brain networks which were significantly different among MwoA,VM and HCS,which were located between l FPN and r FPN,SMN and pm VN,SMN and l VN,DAN and pm VN respectively(p < 0.05).(5)Compared to HCs,MwoA patients showed decreased functional network connectivity between the l FPN and r FPN,as well as increased functional connectivity between SMN and IVN(p <0.05).Compared with MwoA,functional connectivity between SMN and pm VN,SMN and l VN,DAN and pm VN was significantly weakened,and functional connectivity between l FPN and r FPN was significantly enhanced in VM patients(p <0.05).In this study,no significant difference was found in the functional connectivity between VM and HCs.(6)In the analysis of the correlation between the functional connections between brain networks and clinical data,for patients with VM,the visual analog scale(VAS)score and the SMN-pm VN functional connectivity values exhibited a positive correlation(r=0.455,p=0.007).No significant correlation was found between the functional connectivity of other brain networks and clinical data.Conclusion:(1)The functional connections of the brain networks of both MwoA and VM patients have changed,but there are significant differences between the two.(2)MwoA Patients have functional abnormalities in somatosensory,cognitive control,and attention,which may alter the perception of various senses in MwoA patients and lead to headache.(3)VM patients have abnormal integration of multi-sensory and this may be the cause of vestibular symptoms.These findings offer fresh perspectives on the pathophysiology of MwoA and VM.