Local gyrification in children and adolescents with migraine: a descriptive comparison of conventional and shape-adaptive measures

Background: Local gyrification findings in pediatric migraine may vary according to how cortical folding is measured. We aimed to describe similarities and differences between conventional FreeSurfer-derived and shape-adaptive Lyu measures in patient-control comparisons and comparisons based on sex, age, migraine frequency, and associated symptoms. Methods: Comparisons addressed diagnosis, sex and age within both groups, and monthly migraine days (MMDs; <8 vs. ≥8), photophobia and/or phonophobia, and nausea and/or vomiting within patients. Both measures were assessed using Permutation Analysis of Linear Models (PALM) with threshold-free cluster enhancement (TFCE) and family-wise error (FWE) correction. Findings were compared according to statistical significance, effect direction, and anatomical distribution. Results: Both measures identified lower local gyrification in patients than in healthy controls and in female than in male patients, with different anatomical and hemispheric distributions. Among healthy controls, only the conventional measure identified lower gyrification in females than in males. Neither measure identified significant differences in age-related comparisons or comparisons based on migraine frequency or associated symptoms. Conclusions: The two gyrification measures agreed in effect direction for selected contrasts but differed in anatomical localization. These descriptive findings do not establish spatial concordance, methodological superiority, or a specific cortical signature of pediatric migraine. Harmonized comparisons and independent validation are required.