Interictal Neurocognitive Processing of Visual Stimuli in Migraine: Evidence from Event-Related Potentials

Research has established decreased sensory habituation as a defining feature in migraine, while decreased cognitive habituation has only been found with regard to cognitive assessment of the relative probability of the occurrence of a stimulus event. Our study extended the investigation of interictal habituation in migraine to include cognitive processing when viewing of a series of visually-complex images, similar to those we encounter on the internet everyday. We examined interictal neurocognitive function in migraine from a habituation perspective, using a novel paradigm designed to assess how the response to a series of images changes over time. Two groups of participants--migraineurs (N = 25) and non-migraine controls (N = 25)--were asked to view a set of 232 unfamiliar logos in the context of a target identification task as their brain electrical responses were recorded via event-related potentials (ERPs). The set of logos was viewed serially in each of 10 separate trial blocks, with data analysis focusing on how the ERP responses to the logos in frontal electrodes from 200-600 ms changed across time within each group. For the controls, we found that the amplitude of the late positive potential (LPP) ERP component elicited by the logos had no significant change across trial blocks. In contrast, in migraineurs we found that the LPP significantly increased in amplitude across trial blocks, an effect consistent with a lack of habituation to visual stimuli seen in previous research. Our findings provide empirical support abnormal cognitive processing of complex visual images across time in migraineurs that goes beyond the sensory-level habituation found in previous research

Examining the neuroanatomical and the behavioural basis of the effect of basic rhythm on reading aloud

<p>We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine the brain regions associated with the effect of congruency between rhythmic stress and syllabic stress on reading aloud (Gould et al., 2016). The region of particular interest was the putamen, which has been shown to be involved in speech processing, rhythm processing, and predicting upcoming events. The task involved naming words that placed the stress on either the first or second syllable (practice versus police), as well as their corresponding pseudohomophones (praktis versus poleese) that were preceded by either a congruent or incongruent rhythmic prime. The fMRI results revealed that a network involving the putamen is involved, and the behavioural results demonstrated that a rhythmic prime matched to the syllabic stress aids reading processes of both words and PHs. Implications for neurobiological models of reading, as well as clinical applications (e.g. speech rehabilitation in Parkinson’s disease) are discussed.</p

Interictal neurocognitive processing of visual stimuli in migraine: evidence from event-related potentials.

Research has established decreased sensory habituation as a defining feature in migraine, while decreased cognitive habituation has only been found with regard to cognitive assessment of the relative probability of the occurrence of a stimulus event. Our study extended the investigation of interictal habituation in migraine to include cognitive processing when viewing of a series of visually-complex images, similar to those we encounter on the internet everyday. We examined interictal neurocognitive function in migraine from a habituation perspective, using a novel paradigm designed to assess how the response to a series of images changes over time. Two groups of participants--migraineurs (N = 25) and non-migraine controls (N = 25)--were asked to view a set of 232 unfamiliar logos in the context of a target identification task as their brain electrical responses were recorded via event-related potentials (ERPs). The set of logos was viewed serially in each of 10 separate trial blocks, with data analysis focusing on how the ERP responses to the logos in frontal electrodes from 200-600 ms changed across time within each group. For the controls, we found that the amplitude of the late positive potential (LPP) ERP component elicited by the logos had no significant change across trial blocks. In contrast, in migraineurs we found that the LPP significantly increased in amplitude across trial blocks, an effect consistent with a lack of habituation to visual stimuli seen in previous research. Our findings provide empirical support abnormal cognitive processing of complex visual images across time in migraineurs that goes beyond the sensory-level habituation found in previous research

Grand-averaged mean amplitudes as a function of group, block, and time window (a. 200-400 ms; b. 400-600 ms), averaged across frontal-central electrodes F3, FZ, F4, C3, CZ, and C4.

<p>Control Group (N=25). Migraine Group (N=25).</p