The following is a summary of “Exploring sensory sensitivity, cortical excitability, and habituation in episodic migraine, as a function of age and disease severity, using the pattern-reversal task,” published in the August 2023 issue of Headache & Pain by Marti-Marca et al.

In the retrospective study, researchers aimed to examine whether factors like age and disease severity could have a regulating effect on sensory sensitivity and how the brain responds to them. Migraine is a type of recurring headache that affects sensory processing. People with migraine become hypersensitive to visual stimuli and experience changes in how their brain reacts to things they see.

In the study, two experiments were performed. At first, 24 young people had occasional migraines compared with 28 healthy people of the same age and gender. In the second, 36 middle-aged people with episodic migraine were compared with 30 healthy people (age- and gender-matched). eDiaries were used to confirm the diagnosis. Sensory Perception Quotient was used to measure h sensory sensitivity, and then we compared the two groups. They analyzed patterns in how the brain responded to visual stimuli by measuring N1-P1 Peak-to-Peak amplitude. Two mathematical models were used to analyze the data. In the first model, Block (first block, last block) and Group (patients, controls) were the fixed factors. Trial (all trials) and Group were the specified factors in the second group. Cortical excitability was evaluated using N1-P1 first block amplitude, with habituation defined as a reduction in N1-P1 amplitude across Blocks/Trials. Both experiments were conducted during interictal periods.

In the first and second experiments, about 18 people with occasional migraines and 27 without headaches and 19 migraine patients, and 29 without headaches were involved. Compared to controls, migraine patients reported high visual hypersensitivity in both experiments. As per N1-P1 peak-to-peak data, the two groups had no significant differences in cortical excitability. Hence, primary effects of both Block and Trial were discovered, demonstrating habituation in both cohorts, irrespective of age and frequency of headaches.

The study revealed significant hypersensitivity in patients, yet no noteworthy distinctions in habituation or cortical excitability compared to headache-free controls. While patient alterations were somewhat less pronounced, the findings underscore the necessity for defining and standardizing optimal methodological parameters.

Source: thejournalofheadacheandpain.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s10194-023-01618-w