Volumetric evaluation of migraine patients' thalamic nuclei from MR images

Aim of this study is the volumetric evaluation of nuclei thalami in migraine patients. This study has a retrospective and cross-sectional design. The subjects of this study are age and sex matched between control and migraine groups and are aged between 19-71 years old. We included 64 subject's magnetic resonance images from control group and 64 subject's magnetic resonance images from migraine group. In control and migraine groups nuclei volumes for THOMAS nuclei's counterparts in Freesurfer Segment Thalamic Nuclei module were measured by Freesurfer Segment Thalamic Nuclei, and the intracranial volumes were measured with Freesurfer. The ratios of nucleus volume to intracranial volume were calculated. In migraine group THOMAS nuclei's counterparts in DeepThalamus were measured by DeepThalamus by the nuclei volumes and by the ratio of the nuclei volumes to the intracranial volume. Values measured by FreeSurfer Segment Thalamic Nuclei in control and migraine groups were compared using Mann Whitney U test. Values in the migraine group measured by the FreeSurfer Segment Thalamic Nuclei module and the values in the migraine group measured by DeepThalamus were compared using Wilcoxon signed-rank test. There were statistically significant (p < 0.05) results in some nuclei. Our study will contribute to understanding of the connection between nuclei thalami's volumes and migraine. Keywords: Nuclei thalami, migraine, FreeSurfer Segment Thalamic Nuclei module, DeepThalamus