SISC-Poster Open access

PO-11 | Resting state high-density EEG analysis reveals interictal subcortico-cortical linear and non-linear anomalies in subjects with migraine

Gabriele Sebastianelli,1 Camillo Porcaro,2 Sara Gilli,1 Chiara Abagnale,1 Francesco Casillo,2 Giorgio Di Lorenzo,3 Gianluca Coppola1 | 1Department of Medico-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Polo Pontino ICOT, Latina; 2Department of Neuroscience (DNS) and Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padova; 3Chair of Psychiatry, Department of Systems Medicine, Tor Vergata University of Rome, Italy

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Published
6 November 2025
Section
SISC-Poster
DOI
10.4081/cc.2025.15832

Abstract

Background: Clinical electrophysiology has shown consistent functional changes in the brainstem-thalamus-cortex loop in subjects with migraine. This study aimed to determine whether the interictal electroencephalographic (EEG) changes observed in subjects with migraine result from aberrant rhythmic pacemaker activity of subcortical or cortical structures within the sensorimotor pathway.

Methods: A resting state 64-channel EEG was recorded in 42 subjects with migraine without aura (MO) during their interictal phase and for comparison in 42 healthy volunteers (HV). The brain activity of four nodes in the sensorimotor pathway (brainstem, thalamus, S1, and M1) was extracted using a functional source separation approach (FSS) with ad-hoc spatial functional constraints. Spectral characteristics and Higuchi's fractal dimension (FD) were examined for each node to estimate the linear and non-linear brain activity and its complexity.

Results: Compared to HVs, subjects with MO had significantly elevated FD values in the brainstem and thalamus in both the left and right hemispheres. No significant differences in FD values were observed between the two cortical nodes (S1 and M1). Additionally, MO showed an increase in delta and a decrease in alpha power spectral density in all four nodes of the sensorimotor system.

Conclusion: Subjects with MO during the interictal phase have alterations in the linear and non-linear functioning of the brainstem and thalamic subcortical nodes in the sensorimotor system. These alterations may be pivotal in the migraine pathophysiology, causing changes in the rhythmic patterns of the cortex.

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