Highlights
- •Findings include the spatial heterogeneity of cortical excitability in migraine.
- •The degree of heterogeneous cortical excitability is related to headache frequency.
- •Spatially targeted normalization of cortical excitability may alleviate headaches.
Abstract
To investigate the spatial heterogeneity of cortical excitability in adolescents with
migraine, magnetoencephalography (MEG) recordings at a sampling rate of 6,000 Hz were
obtained from 35 adolescents with an acute migraine and 35 age- and sex-matched healthy
control participants during an auditory–motor task. Neuromagnetic activation from
low- to high-frequency ranges (5–1,000 Hz) was measured at sensor and source levels.
The heterogeneity of cortical excitability was quantified within each functional modality
(auditory vs motor) and hemispherical lateralization. MEG data showed that high-frequency,
not low-frequency neuromagnetic signals, showed heterogeneous cortical activation
in migraine subjects compared with control participants (P < .001). The alteration of the heterogeneity of cortical excitability in migraine
subjects was independent of age and sex. The degree of the neuromagnetic heterogeneity
of cortical activation was significantly correlated with headache frequency (r = .71,
P < .005). The alteration of cortical excitability in migraine subjects was spatially
heterogeneous and frequency dependent, which previously has not been reported. The
finding may be critical for developing spatially targeted therapeutic strategies for
normalizing cortical excitability with the purpose of reducing headache attacks.
Perspective
This article presents a new approach to quantitatively measure the spatial heterogeneity
of cortical excitability in adolescents with migraine using MEG signals in a frequency
range of 5 to 1,000 Hz. The characteristics of the location and degree of cortical
excitability may be critical for spatially targeted treatment for migraine.
Key words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: March 09, 2016
Accepted:
February 11,
2016
Received in revised form:
December 23,
2015
Received:
July 23,
2015
Footnotes
This project was supported by grant number R21NS072817 and 1R21NS081420-01A1 from the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Identification
Copyright
© 2016 by the American Pain Society
