Imagine your brain is a bustling city, with different districts connected by highways. Just like neighborhoods in a city, the hippocampus – a region of the brain associated with memory and spatial navigation – has different subdivisions. In this study, scientists wanted to understand how these subdivisions were affected in people with both subjective cognitive decline (SCD) and migraine. Using advanced imaging techniques, they found that the connectivity between different parts of the hippocampus was altered in individuals with SCD and migraine. It was as if certain districts of the brain city were not communicating properly anymore! They discovered that changes in structural connections were shared between the anterior hippocampus and inferior temporal gyri, as well as between the posterior hippocampus and precentral gyrus. Interestingly, they also found that the duration of SCD was linked to changes in structural connections between the posterior hippocampus and the cerebellum, another important brain region. This research sheds light on the specific mechanisms involved in SCD and migraine, providing potential imaging markers for future diagnosis or treatments. If you’re curious to learn more about these fascinating brain connections, check out the full article below!

IntroductionSubjective cognitive decline (SCD) and migraine are often comorbid. Hippocampal structural abnormalities have been observed in individuals with both SCD and migraine. Given the known structural and functional heterogeneity along the long axis (anterior to posterior) of the hippocampus, we aimed to identify altered patterns of structural covariance within hippocampal subdivisions associated with SCD and migraine comorbidities.MethodsA seed-based structural covariance network analysis was applied to examine large-scale anatomical network changes of the anterior and posterior hippocampus in individuals with SCD, migraine and healthy controls. Conjunction analyses were used to identify shared network-level alterations in the hippocampal subdivisions in individuals with both SCD and migraine.ResultsAltered structural covariance integrity of the anterior and posterior hippocampus was observed in the temporal, frontal, occipital, cingulate, precentral, and postcentral areas in individuals with SCD and migraine compared with healthy controls. Conjunction analysis revealed that, in both SCD and migraine, altered structural covariance integrity was shared between the anterior hippocampus and inferior temporal gyri and between the posterior hippocampus and precentral gyrus. Additionally, the structural covariance integrity of the posterior hippocampus-cerebellum axis was associated with the duration of SCD.ConclusionThis study highlighted the specific role of hippocampal subdivisions and specific structural covariance alterations within these subdivisions in the pathophysiology of SCD and migraine. These network-level changes in structural covariance may serve as potential imaging signatures for individuals who have both SCD and migraine.

Read Full Article (External Site)