Results from a study funded by Australian Rotary Health (ARH) have revealed migraine sufferers experience both structural and functional connectivity changes in the brain compared to non-migraine sufferers.

Tiffani Mungoven from the University of Sydney received the Joan E. Swanson PhD Scholarship in 2020 in partnership with ARH to conduct research into migraines.

One of her studies focused on the structure of the trigeminal nerve alongside anisotropic water movement in the brain to discover differences between migraine and non-migraine individuals.

While both groups were found to have differences between left and right nerve volume, migraine sufferers exhibited significantly reduced water flow directionality in the left trigeminal nerve.

Another key finding from one of her studies that focused on brain changes during pain, found that the prefrontal cortex of individuals with migraine showed reduced functional connectivity with other regions of the brain immediately prior to a migraine attack.

These findings suggest that migraine brains are structurally and functionally different than those without migraines, giving insight into underlying migraine mechanisms.

“My research allowed me to address knowledge gaps in existing migraine literature and provide a greater understanding of the key differences that exist in brainstem and cortical regions in individuals that suffer from migraine,” said Miss Mungoven.

Media contact: Lisa Easey  E: lisa@arh.org.au    First published 12th April 2023