Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40670915›Full record

ArticleThe journal of headache and pain2025

Structural alterations in occipital cortices in trigeminal neuralgia: a voxel- and surface-based morphometric MRI study.

Francesca Caramia, Antonio Di Renzo, Marco Fiorelli, Gianfranco De Stefano, Giulia Di Stefano, Maddalena Boccia, Maria Giulia Tullo, Gaia Cartocci, Costanza Gianni, Andrea Truini

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Article in The journal of headache and pain, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Francesca CaramiaNeuroradiology Unit, Department of Human Neurosciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, 00185, Italy. francesca.caramia@uniroma1.it.
Antonio Di RenzoIRCCS - Fondazione Bietti, Rome, 00184, Italy.
Marco FiorelliNeuroradiology Unit, Department of Human Neurosciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, 00185, Italy.
Gianfranco De StefanoDepartment of Human Neuroscience, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, 00185, Italy.
Giulia Di StefanoDepartment of Human Neuroscience, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, 00185, Italy.
Maddalena BocciaDepartment of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via Dei Marsi, 78, Rome, 00185, Italy.
Maria Giulia TulloDepartment of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University G. D'Annunzio of Chieti-Pescara, Via Dei Vestini 31, Chieti, 66100, Italy.
Gaia CartocciEmergency Radiology Unit, Diagnostic Medicine and Radiology, Umberto I University Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, 00185, Italy.
Costanza GianniNeuroradiology Unit, Department of Human Neurosciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, 00185, Italy.
Andrea TruiniDepartment of Human Neuroscience, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, 00185, Italy.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTo investigate gray matter structural alterations in patients with primary trigeminal neuralgia (TN) using voxel-based and surface-based morphometry, and to explore potential associations with clinical and neuroanatomical variables.

methodsThirty-eight patients with primary TN and twenty-six age-matched healthy controls underwent high-resolution 3 T MRI. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and surface-based morphometry (SBM) were conducted using CAT12. Neurovascular conflict (NVC) grade and trigeminal nerve atrophy were assessed from dedicated 3D-CISS and TOF-MRA sequences. Associations between morphometric alterations and clinical variables—including disease duration, pain phenotype and intensity, NVC grade, and nerve atrophy—were tested using linear regression models controlling for age and sex.

resultsVBM analysis revealed reduced gray matter volume in a bilateral cluster encompassing the cuneus and superior occipital gyrus (SOG) in TN patients compared to controls. SBM analysis identified lateralized cortical thinning in the left cuneus and right SOG, corresponding to the side of pain in left- and right-sided TN, respectively. No significant associations were observed between cortical alterations and clinical parameters. Morphometric differences were not found in classical pain-related regions such as the thalamus, insula, or anterior cingulate cortex.

conclusionOur findings reveal structural alterations in posterior regions, specifically the cuneus and superior occipital gyrus (SOG), in patients with TN. Although primarily visual, these regions are also implicated in multisensory integration and the affective dimension of chronic pain. Their alteration may reflect long-standing neuroplastic adaptations to persistent nociceptive input, rather than correlating directly with symptom severity.

Indexed as

Gray MatterMagnetic Resonance ImagingOccipital LobeTrigeminal NeuralgiaAdultAgedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedChronic painCuneusGray matterMRIOccipital cortexSurface-based morphometryTrigeminal neuralgiaVoxel-based morphometry

Identifiers

PMID40670915
PMCPMC12269279

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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.