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The Journal of Headache and Pain
Published in: The Journal of Headache and Pain 1/2015

Open Access 01-12-2016 | Research article

Cortical plasticity between the pain and pain-free phases in patients with episodic tension-type headache

Authors: Bing Chen, Yuan He, Lei Xia, Li-Li Guo, Jin-Long Zheng

Published in: The Journal of Headache and Pain | Issue 1/2015

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Abstract

Background

State-related brain structural alterations in patients with episodic tension-type headache (ETTH) are unclear. We aimed to conduct a longitudinal study to explore dynamic gray matter (GM) changes between the pain and pain-free phases in ETTH.

Methods

We recruited 40 treatment-naïve ETTH patients and 40 healthy controls. All participants underwent brain structural scans on a 3.0-T MRI system. ETTH patients were scanned in and out of pain phases. Voxel-based morphometry analysis was used to determine the differences in regional gray matter density (GMD) between groups. Additional regression analysis was used to identify any associations between regional GMD and clinical symptoms.

Results

ETTH patients exhibited reduced GMD in the bilateral primary somatosensory cortex, and increased GMD in the bilateral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and anterior insula for the in pain phase compared with the out of pain phase. The out of pain phase of ETTH patients exhibited no regions with higher or lower GMD compared with healthy controls. GMD in the left ACC and left anterior insula was negatively correlated with headache days. GMD in the left ACC was negatively correlated with anxiety and depressive symptoms in ETTH patients.

Conclusions

This is the first study to demonstrate dynamic and reversible GMD changes between the pain and pain-free phases in ETTH patients. However, this balance might be disrupted by increased headache days and progressive anxiety and depressive symptoms.
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Metadata
Title
Cortical plasticity between the pain and pain-free phases in patients with episodic tension-type headache
Authors
Bing Chen
Yuan He
Lei Xia
Li-Li Guo
Jin-Long Zheng
Publication date
01-12-2016
Publisher
Springer Milan
Published in
The Journal of Headache and Pain / Issue 1/2015
Print ISSN: 1129-2369
Electronic ISSN: 1129-2377
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s10194-016-0698-6

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