• Antonio Russo, Alessandro Tessitore, Alfonso Giordano, Daniele Corbo, Laura Marcuccio, Manuela De Stefano, Fabrizio Salemi, Renata Conforti, Fabrizio Esposito, and Gioacchino Tedeschi.
• Department of Neurological Sciences, Second University of Naples, Naples 80138, Italy.
• Cephalalgia. 2012 Oct 1; 32 (14): 1041-8.

BackgroundConverging neuropsychological evidence suggests that in migraine executive functions (EF) may be affected during interictal periods.ObjectiveTo evaluate the functional connectivity of the fronto-parietal networks (FPN) known to be associated with EF, in migraine without aura (MwoA) patients, in the interictal period, in comparison to healthy controls (HC).MethodsUsing resting-state functional MRI (RS-fMRI), we compared functional connectivity within the FPN in 14 patients with MwoA versus 14 sex- and age-matched HC, and assessed the correlation between functional connectivity within FPN, clinical features of MwoA patients, and EF. We used voxel-based morphometry to assess whether between-group differences in functional connectivity were dependent on structural differences.ResultsNeuropsychological data revealed no significant executive dysfunction in MwoA patients. RS-fMRI showed that MwoA patients, compared to HC, had significant functional connectivity reduction within the right FPN and specifically in the middle frontal gyrus (MFG) and the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. In addition, we found that MFG reduced connectivity was negatively correlated with the pain intensity of migraine attacks. There were no structural differences between the two groups.ConclusionsOur data suggest that, even in the absence of clinically evident EF deficits, MwoA is associated with reduced FPN functional connectivity. This study provides further insights into the complex scenario of migraine mechanisms.

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