Background

Migraine is associated with altered sensory processing and cortical responsivity that may contribute to susceptibility to attacks by changing brain network excitability dynamics. To gain better insight into cortical responsivity changes in migraine we subjected patients to a short series of light inputs over a broad frequency range (“chirp” stimulation), designed to uncover dynamic features of visual cortex responsivity.

Methods

EEG responses to visual chirp stimulation (10–40 Hz) were measured in controls (n = 24) and patients with migraine with aura (n = 19) or migraine without aura (n = 20). Average EEG responses were assessed at (i) all EEG frequencies between 5 and 125 Hz, (ii) stimulation frequencies, and (iii) harmonic frequencies. We compared average responses in a low (10–18 Hz), medium (19–26 Hz) and high (27–40 Hz) frequency band.

Results

Responses to chirp stimulation were similar in controls and migraine subtypes. Eight measurements (n = 3 migraine with aura; n = 5 without aura) were assigned as “pre-ictal”, based on reported headache within 48 hours after investigation. Pre-ictally, an increased harmonic response to 22–32 Hz stimulation (beta band) was observed (p = 0.001), compared to interictal state measurements.

Conclusions

We found chirp responses to be enhanced in the 48 hours prior to migraine headache onset. Visual chirp stimulation proved a simple and reliable technique with potential to detect changes in cortical responsivity associated with the onset of migraine attacks.

中文翻译：

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通过视觉啁啾刺激评估的偏头痛患者的发作前皮质反应性增强。

背景

偏头痛与感觉处理和皮层反应性的改变有关，这可能通过改变大脑网络兴奋性动态而导致对攻击的易感性。为了更好地了解偏头痛的皮层反应性变化，我们对患者进行了一系列宽频率范围内的短系列光输入（“啁啾”刺激），旨在揭示视觉皮层反应性的动态特征。

方法

在对照组（n = 24）和有先兆偏头痛（n = 19）或无先兆偏头痛（n = 20）的患者中测量了对视觉啁啾刺激（10-40 Hz）的脑电图反应。在 (i) 5 到 125 Hz 之间的所有 EEG 频率、(ii) 刺激频率和 (iii) 谐波频率下评估平均 EEG 反应。我们比较了低 (10–18 Hz)、中 (19–26 Hz) 和高 (27–40 Hz) 频段的平均响应。

结果

对照组和偏头痛亚型对啁啾刺激的反应相似。根据调查后 48 小时内报告的头痛，八次测量（n = 3 次有先兆偏头痛；n = 5 次无先兆）被指定为“发作前”。 与发作间期测量值相比，在发作前观察到对 22-32 Hz 刺激（β 波段）的谐波响应增加（p = 0.001）。

结论

我们发现在偏头痛发作前 48 小时内啁啾反应增强。视觉啁啾刺激被证明是一种简单而可靠的技术，具有检测与偏头痛发作相关的皮层反应性变化的潜力。