Abnormal functional integration across core brain networks in migraine without aura

Background: As a complex subjective experience, pain processing may be related to functional integration among intrinsic connectivity networks (ICNs) of migraine patients without aura (MwoA). However, few study focused on the pattern alterations in the ICNs of MwoA. Results: Thirty-one MwoA and 31 age-and education-matched healthy controls participated in this study. After identifying the default mode network (DMN), central executive network (CEN) and salience network (SN) as core ICNs by using independent component analysis (ICA), functional connectivity and effective connectivity during the resting state were used to investigated the abnormalities in ICNs interactions. MwoA showed decreased functional connectivity among ICNs compared with healthy controls. The strength of causal influences from the right fronto insular cortex (rFIC) to the right anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) became weaker, and the rFIC to the right medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) became stronger in MwoA. Conclusions: These changes suggested that the SN may play a major role in the pathophysiological features of MwoA and helped us to synthesize previous findings into an aberrant network dynamical framework.