Cortical thickness abnormalities in patients with vestibular migraine

Abstract

Objective To investigate cortical thickness changes in patients with vestibular migraine (VM), and to provide a basis for studying the pathogenesis of VM. Methods From June 2021 to December 2022, we enrolled 27 patients with VM visiting the department of neurology of our hospital and 28 healthy volunteers as control group. All the subjects underwent whole-brain magnetic resonance (MR) scanning. Using surface-based morphometry, the thickness of the cortex was analyzed on MR images and compared between the two groups. In the VM group, Spearman correlation analysis was performed to detect the correlation between cortical thickness changes and VM course, headache attack frequency, dizziness attack frequency, and headache intensity on the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Results Compared with the control group, patients with VM had a significant decrease in the cortical thickness of the left inferior parietal lobule (Pvertex<0.01, Pcluster<0.05). However, there was no significant correlation between the cortical thickness of the left inferior parietal lobule and the course of VM, headache attack frequency, dizziness attack frequency, or VAS score (P>0.05). Conclusion The cortical thickness of the left inferior parietal lobule is altered in patients with VM. The left inferior parietal lobule may be involved in the pathophysiological process of VM.

Keywords

• migraine disorders|vestibular diseases|brain cortical thickness|magnetic resonance imaging