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The Journal of Headache and Pain
Published in: The Journal of Headache and Pain 1/2015

Open Access 01-12-2015 | Research article

Visual evoked potentials in subgroups of migraine with aura patients

Authors: Gianluca Coppola, Martina Bracaglia, Davide Di Lenola, Cherubino Di Lorenzo, Mariano Serrao, Vincenzo Parisi, Antonio Di Renzo, Francesco Martelli, Antonello Fadda, Jean Schoenen, Francesco Pierelli

Published in: The Journal of Headache and Pain | Issue 1/2015

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Abstract

Background

Patients suffering from migraine with aura can have either pure visual auras or complex auras with sensory disturbances and dysphasia, or both. Few studies have searched for possible pathophysiological differences between these two subgroups of patients.

Methods

Methods - Forty-seven migraine with aura patients were subdivided in a subgroup with exclusively visual auras (MA, N = 27) and another with complex neurological auras (MA+, N = 20). We recorded pattern-reversal visual evoked potentials (VEP: 15 min of arc cheques, 3.1 reversal per second, 600 sweeps) and measured amplitude and habituation (slope of the linear regression line of amplitude changes from the 1st to 6th block of 100 sweeps) for the N1-P1 and P1-N2 components in patients and, for comparison, in 30 healthy volunteers (HV) of similar age and gender distribution.

Results

VEP N1-P1 habituation, i.e. amplitude decrement between 1st and 6th block, which was obvious in most HV (mean slope −0.50), was deficient in both MA (slope +0.01, p = 0.0001) and MA+ (−0.0049, p = 0.001) patients. However, VEP N1-P1 amplitudes across blocks were normal in MA patients, while they were significantly greater in MA+ patients than in HVs.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that in migraine with aura patients different aura phenotypes may be underpinned by different pathophysiological mechanisms. Pre-activation cortical excitability could be higher in patients with complex neurological auras than in those having pure visual auras or in healthy volunteers.
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Metadata
Title
Visual evoked potentials in subgroups of migraine with aura patients
Authors
Gianluca Coppola
Martina Bracaglia
Davide Di Lenola
Cherubino Di Lorenzo
Mariano Serrao
Vincenzo Parisi
Antonio Di Renzo
Francesco Martelli
Antonello Fadda
Jean Schoenen
Francesco Pierelli
Publication date
01-12-2015
Publisher
Springer Milan
Published in
The Journal of Headache and Pain / Issue 1/2015
Print ISSN: 1129-2369
Electronic ISSN: 1129-2377
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s10194-015-0577-6

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