Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35295528›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland)2021

Sex Differences of Periaqueductal Grey Matter Functional Connectivity in Migraine.

Kinga Gecse, Daniel Baksa, Dóra Dobos, Csaba Sandor Aranyi, Attila Galambos, Natália Kocsel, Edina Szabó, Gyöngyi Kökönyei, Miklós Emri, Gyorgy Bagdy and 1 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
1.1field-weighted citation impact, top 24% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Changes in the functional brain networks and graph theory analysis of patients with epilepsy and comorbid migraine without aura.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Kinga GecseDepartment of Pharmacodynamics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
Daniel BaksaDepartment of Pharmacodynamics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
Dóra DobosDepartment of Pharmacodynamics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
Csaba Sandor AranyiDivision of Nuclear Medicine and Translational Imaging, Department of Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.
Attila GalambosSE-NAP2 Genetic Brain Imaging Migraine Research Group, Hungarian Brain Research Program, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
Natália KocselSE-NAP2 Genetic Brain Imaging Migraine Research Group, Hungarian Brain Research Program, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
Edina SzabóSE-NAP2 Genetic Brain Imaging Migraine Research Group, Hungarian Brain Research Program, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
Gyöngyi KökönyeiDepartment of Pharmacodynamics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
Miklós EmriDivision of Nuclear Medicine and Translational Imaging, Department of Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.
Gyorgy BagdyDepartment of Pharmacodynamics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
Gabriella JuhaszDepartment of Pharmacodynamics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
Semmelweis University · HUUniversity of Debrecen · HUCenter for Pain and the Brain · USEötvös Loránd University · HU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The existence of "sex phenotype" in migraine is a long-standing scientific question. Fluctuations of female sex hormones contribute to migraine attacks, and women also have enhanced brain activity during emotional processing and their functional brain networks seem to be more vulnerable to migraine-induced disruption compared to men. Periaqueductal grey matter (PAG) is a core region of pain processing and modulation networks with possible sex-related implications in migraine. In our study, sex differences of PAG functional resting-state connectivity were investigated in the interictal state in 32 episodic migraines without aura patients (16 women and 16 men). A significant main effect of sex was detected in PAG connectivity with postcentral, precentral, and inferior parietal gyri, and further differences were found between right PAG and visual areas (superior occipital gyrus, calcarine, and cuneus), supplementary motor area, and mid-cingulum connectivity. In all cases, PAG functional connectivity was stronger in female migraineurs compared to males. However, higher average pain intensity of migraine attacks correlated with stronger connectivity of PAG and middle temporal, superior occipital, and parietal gyri in male migraineurs compared to females. Migraine-related disability is also associated with PAG connectivity but without sex differences. Our results indicate that sex differences in PAG connectivity with brain regions involved in sensory and emotional aspects of pain might contribute to the "sex-phenotype" in migraine. The stronger functional connectivity between PAG and pain processing areas may be a sign of increased excitability of pain pathways even in resting-state in females compared to male migraineurs, which could contribute to female vulnerability for migraine. However, pain intensity experienced by male migraineurs correlated with increased connectivity between PAG and regions involved in the subjective experience of pain and pain-related unpleasantness. The demonstrated sex differences of PAG functional connectivity may support the notion that the female and male brain is differently affected by migraine.

Indexed as

disabilityfemaleheadachemalepain intensityperiaqueductal grey (PAG)

Identifiers

PMID35295528
PMCPMC8915645
OpenAlexW3215733531

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.