Background: Prior MRI studies on vestibular migraine (VM) have revealed abnormalities in static regional intrinsic brain activity (iBA) and dynamic functional connectivity between brain regions or networks. However, the temporal variation and concordance of regional iBA measures remain to be explored. Methods: 57 VM patients during the interictal period were compared to 88 healthy controls (HC) in this resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study. The dynamics and concordance of regional iBA indices, including amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) and regional homogeneity (ReHo), were examined by utilizing sliding time-window analysis. Partial correlation analyses were performed between clinical parameters and resting-state fMRI indices in brain areas showing significant group differences. Results: The VM group showed increased ALFF and ReHo dynamics, as well as increased temporal concordance between ALFF and ReHo in the bilateral paracentral lobule and supplementary motor area relative to the HC group. We also found decreased ReHo dynamics in the right temporal pole, and decreased ALFF dynamics in the right cerebellum posterior lobe, bilateral angular gyrus and middle occipital gyrus (MOG) in the VM group compared with the HC group. Moreover, a positive correlation was observed between ALFF dynamics in the left MOG and vertigo disease duration across all VM patients. Conclusion: Temporal dynamics and concordance of regional iBA indices were altered in the motor cortex, cerebellum, occipital and temporoparietal cortex, which may contribute to disrupted multisensory processing and vestibular control in patients with VM. ALFF dynamics in the left MOG may be useful biomarker for evaluating vertigo burden in this disorder.

Purpose: Neuroimaging studies on migraine have revealed structural and functional alterations in the hippocampus, a region involved in pain processing and stress response. This study was designed to investigate whether effective connectivity of this region is disrupted in migraine and relates to chronicity of this disease. Patients and Methods: In 39 episodic migraine (EM) patients, 17 chronic migraine (CM) patients, and 35 healthy controls, we investigated differences in the directional influences between the hippocampus and the rest of the brain by combining resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and Granger causality analysis (GCA), with bilateral hippocampus as seed regions. The associations between directional influences and the clinical variables were also examined. Results: Comparing each patient group to the control group, we found increased and decreased negative influence on the hippocampus exerted by the bilateral visual areas and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), respectively. The hippocampus showed increased positive influence on the right posterior insula and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), as well as increased negative influence on the left cerebellum in CM patients relative to EM patients and healthy controls. Furthermore, across all patients, the migraine frequency exhibited a positive and negative association with causal influence from the hippocampus to mPFC and left cerebellum, respectively. Conclusion: Migraine patients have abnormal effective connectivity between the hippocampus and multiple brain regions involved in the sensory and cognitive processing of pain. Disrupted directional influences to the hippocampus exerted by dlPFC and bilateral visual areas were common features of EM and CM patients. Directional influences from the hippocampus to mPFC and left cerebellum may be useful imaging biomarkers for assessing migraine frequency.

Patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) might have white matter abnormalities. However, less is known about white matter changes after exposing a specific traumatic event. The purpose of this study was to explore the abnormalities of diffusion in cerebral white matter and its relationship with the clinical symptoms in patients with PTSD by using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Diffusion-weighted imaging of the cerebrum was performed in typhoon survivors with (n = 27) and without PTSD (n = 33) and healthy controls (HCs) (n = 30). Differences in fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD), and radial diffusivity (RD) were calculated among groups using voxel-based analysis of the DTI data. Correlations between diffusion indices and clinical symptoms in patients with PTSD were also assessed. Both patients with PTSD and trauma-exposed control (TEC) group showed increased FA in the anterior limb of the internal capsule, forceps of the corpus callosum, and corona radiata relative to the HC group. Additionally, there was a negative correlation between FA values in the white matter and the clinical symptoms. Trauma exposure may result in disruption of cerebral white matter in individuals with or without PTSD, particularly in the frontal fibers. Aberrant white matter alterations may be associated with the severity of PTSD symptoms.

Background: The high heterogeneity in vestibular migraine (VM) complicates understanding its precise pathophysiological mechanisms and identifying potential biomarkers. This study investigated the heterogeneity in VM using a newly proposed method called Individualized Differential Structural Covariance Network (IDSCN) analysis. Methods: Structural T1‐weighted MRI scans were performed on 55 patients with VM and 65 healthy controls, and an IDSCN was constructed for each patient. We studied the extent of heterogeneity in the IDSCNs, summarized the distribution of differential edges, and clustered the patients into subtypes with the shared differential edges. Imaging–clinical association analyses were conducted on both the subtype classification and the differential edges exhibiting significant inter‐subtype differences. Results: Patients with VM demonstrated notable heterogeneity in the number of significantly altered IDSCN edges, while sharing several common differential connections that were mainly distributed among the parietal, subcortical, and cerebellar regions. Two robust and distinct neuroanatomical subtypes of VM were identified, which were associated with headache frequency. The differential edge between the left paracentral lobule and right pallidum was associated with both headache frequency and occurrence. Conclusions: These findings indicate the importance of considering individual differences in VM research and may offer insights for precise diagnosis and individualized treatment of the disease.