Quan Shilan, Wang Chenxi, Huang Jia, Wang Shujun, Jia Tianzhe, Liang Jimin, Zhao Ling, Liu Jixin
Xi'an Key Laboratory of Intelligent Sensing and Regulation of Trans-Scale Life Information, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710126, PR China.
School of Electronic Engineering, Xidian University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
Brain Imaging Behav. 2024 Dec;18(6):1467-1479. doi: 10.1007/s11682-024-00938-y. Epub 2024 Sep 28.
Acupuncture is an effective and safe alternative treatment to prevent and treat migraine, but its central analgesic mechanism remains poorly understood. It is believed that the dysfunction of the thalamocortical connectivity network is an important contributor to migraine pathophysiology. This study aimed to investigate the abnormal thalamocortical network dynamics in patients with migraine without aura (MWoA) before and after an 8-week electroacupuncture treatment. A total of 143 patients with MWoA and 100 healthy controls (HC) were included, and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were acquired. Dynamic functional network connectivity (dFNC) was calculated for each subject. The modulation effect of electroacupuncture on clinical outcomes of migraine, dFNC, and their association were investigated. In our results, dFNC matrices were classified into two clusters (brain states). As compared with the HC, patients with MWoA had a higher proportion of brain states with a strong thalamocortical between-network connection, implying an abnormal balance of the network organization across dFNC brain states. Correlation analysis showed that this abnormality was associated with summarized clinical measurements of migraine. A total of 60 patients were willing to receive an 8-week electroacupuncture treatment, and 24 responders had 50% changes in headache frequency. In electroacupuncture responders, electroacupuncture could change the abnormal thalamocortical connectivities towards a pattern more similar to that of HC. Our findings suggested that electroacupuncture could relieve the symptoms of migraine and has the potential capacity to regulate the abnormal function of the thalamocortical circuits.
针灸是预防和治疗偏头痛的一种有效且安全的替代疗法，但其中枢镇痛机制仍未完全明确。据信，丘脑皮质连接网络功能障碍是偏头痛病理生理学的一个重要因素。本研究旨在调查无先兆偏头痛（MWoA）患者在8周电针治疗前后丘脑皮质网络动力学的异常情况。共纳入143例MWoA患者和100例健康对照（HC），并采集静息态功能磁共振成像（fMRI）数据。计算每个受试者的动态功能网络连接性（dFNC）。研究电针治疗对偏头痛临床疗效、dFNC及其相关性的调节作用。在我们的研究结果中，dFNC矩阵被分为两个簇（脑状态）。与HC相比，MWoA患者具有较强丘脑皮质网络间连接的脑状态比例更高，这意味着跨dFNC脑状态的网络组织平衡异常。相关性分析表明，这种异常与偏头痛的综合临床测量指标相关。共有60例患者愿意接受为期8周的电针治疗，其中24例有反应者的头痛频率变化了50%。在电针有反应者中，电针可使异常的丘脑皮质连接向更类似于HC的模式转变。我们的研究结果表明，电针可以缓解偏头痛症状，并具有调节丘脑皮质回路异常功能的潜在能力。
