Cerebrovascular response to repetitive visual stimulation in interictal migraine with aura

Cortical hypersensitivity and absent habituation to different stimuli have been observed in migraine patients. These features might also be transmitted to the cerebral vasoreactivity, but results are conflicting so far. Transcranial Doppler ultrasound (TCD) was used to assess cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV) changes in the middle (MCA) and posterior cerebral arteries (PCA) in relation to repetitive checkerboard visual stimulation. Stimulation consisted of 10 consecutive cycles, each comprising 10 s stimulation and 10 s rest. TCD recordings were analysed using stimulus-related averaging algorithm. Data of 19 interictal migraineurs with aura were compared to those of 19 headache-free healthy volunteers. The CBFV increase in PCA and in MCA during visual stimulation was significantly larger and steeper in migraineurs than in controls (P = 0.017 and P = 0.005). The response in PCA remained stable over the 10 stimulation cycles, both in migraineurs and in controls. The response in MCA was stable only in migraineurs. In controls it decreased over the last 5 stimulation cycles compared with the first 5 cycles (P = 0.04). Migraineurs with aura exhibit a larger cerebrovascular response to repetitive visual stimulation compared to headache-free subjects. A reduced adaptation to environmental stimuli in migraine is suggested, since there was no habituation in migraineurs in contrast to healthy controls.