Differential resting-state MEG microstate patterns in migraineurs: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) microstates offer distinct and complementary insights into brain activity compared to electroencephalography microstates, but their role in migraine remains incompletely understood. This study used optically pumped magnetometer MEG (OPM-MEG) to compare resting-state microstate patterns between migraineurs and healthy controls and to evaluate their correlations with clinical characteristics.

METHODS

Resting-state OPM-MEG data were collected in this cross-sectional study. Parameters of six MEG microstate classes (Ms1-Ms6) were calculated and compared between migraineurs and healthy controls. The E-value and its lower control limit were assessed for sensitivity analysis. Pearson correlation coefficients were employed to investigate the relationships between microstate parameters and clinical traits.

RESULTS

The study included 25 migraine patients without aura (21 females) and 18 healthy controls (13 females). Compared to healthy controls, migraineurs exhibited significantly higher coverage and occurrence per second of Ms2 and greater coverage of Ms6, whereas these parameters of Ms3 were lower. Transition probabilities among microstates (especially Ms2, Ms3, and Ms6) also differed between groups. In migraineurs, the coverage and transition probabilities of Ms3 and Ms6 were negatively correlated with headache attack duration, intensity, and scores on the Headache Impact Test-6.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings provided evidence for a pathological basis of the synergistic dysfunction across brain networks in migraineurs. OPM-MEG microstate parameters might serve as potential biomarkers for migraine diagnosis and treatment.