Aberrant static and dynamic functional connectivity of auditory processing in migraine: A millisecond-scale magnetoencephalography study

This study aimed to characterize frequency- and latency-dependent network alterations in migraine using magnetoencephalography (MEG)-based static and dynamic functional connectivity analyses during auditory stimulation. Thirty interictal patients with migraine and 30 healthy controls underwent whole-head MEG recordings during a lateralized auditory task. Connectivity was estimated using corrected amplitude-envelope correlation across seven predefined frequency bands spanning 2–120 Hz. Group differences were assessed using two-sided independent-samples t-tests, with Bonferroni correction for static analyses and false discovery rate correction for dynamic analyses. Static differences were confined to low-gamma (30–59 Hz), high-gamma (60–89 Hz), and ripple (90–120 Hz) bands. Static functional connectivity was significantly higher in patients with migraine (Cohen's d = 1.40–1.48 for the illustrated connections). No static connections survived correction in the delta, theta, alpha, or beta bands. Dynamic analyses revealed early gamma/ripple increases and additional low-frequency changes across time windows. These findings suggest altered auditory network organization in interictal migraine. Their potential relevance to sensory processing requires further testing in independent cohorts, including direct assessment of auditory symptoms.