In child and adult migraineurs the somatosensory cortex stands out … again: An arterial spin labeling investigation

Over the past decade, human brain imaging investigations have reported altered regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in the interictal phase of migraine. However, there have been conflicting findings across different investigations, making the use of perfusion imaging in migraine pathophysiology more difficult to define. These inconsistencies may reflect technical constraints with traditional perfusion imaging methods such as single-photon emission computed tomography and positron emission tomography. Comparatively, pseudocontinuous arterial spin labeling (pCASL) is a recently developed magnetic resonance imaging technique that is noninvasive and offers superior spatial resolution and increased sensitivity. Using pCASL, we have previously shown increased rCBF within the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) in adult migraineurs, where blood flow was positively associated with migraine frequency. Whether these observations are present in pediatric and young adult populations remains unknown. This is an important question given the age-related variants of migraine prevalence, symptomology, and treatments. In this investigation, we used pCASL to quantitatively compare and contrast blood flow within S1 in pediatric and young adult migraineurs as compared with healthy controls. In migraine patients, we found significant resting rCBF increases within bilateral S1 as compared with healthy controls. Furthermore, within the right S1, we report a positive correlation between blood flow value with migraine attack frequency and cutaneous allodynia symptom profile. Our results reveal that pediatric and young adult migraineurs exhibit analogous rCBF changes with adult migraineurs, further supporting the possibility that these alterations within S1 are a consequence of repeated migraine attacks. Hum Brain Mapp, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.