Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 5, 2026
10:39
3D-Neuronavigation In Vivo Through a Patient's Brain During a Spontaneous Migraine Headache
Published on: June 2, 2014
Top-down control of visual cortex in migraine populations
Marla J S Mickleborough1, Grace Truong2, Todd C Handy1
1Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4 Canada; Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, 2136 West Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4 Canada.
Neuropsychologia
|January 26, 2011
Summary
Migraine patients exhibit altered visual cortex attentional control, with impaired suppression of unattended peripheral stimuli. This impacts visual processing and may explain some migraine pathophysiology.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Ophthalmology
- Neurology
Background:
- Migraine pathophysiology involves heightened visual cortex excitability.
- Impaired inhibitory intracortical processes are linked to migraine.
- Cortical pathophysiology may affect top-down attentional control of the visual cortex.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if migraineurs have altered top-down attentional control of the visual cortex.
- To examine how attention modulates visual sensory cortical responses in migraineurs versus controls.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a probabilistic spatial orienting task with event-related potentials (ERPs).
- Compared visual sensory cortical responses between migraineurs (N=29) and non-migraine controls (N=29).
- Analyzed ERPs based on stimulus location (fovea vs. parafovea) and attention (attended vs. unattended).
Main Results:
- Migraineurs showed a larger attention effect on the visual N1 ERP component for foveal events compared to controls.
- Migraineurs lacked an early-phase attention effect on the P1 ERP component for parafoveal events, unlike controls.
- Behavioral data indicated heightened response performance in migraineurs despite altered ERPs.
Conclusions:
- Migraineurs demonstrate altered top-down attentional control of the visual cortex.
- Findings suggest a reduced ability in migraineurs to suppress sensory-evoked activity for unattended peripheral events.
- Altered visual cortex attentional control may contribute to migraine pathophysiology.
Related Concept Videos
01:24Vision
Vision is the result of light being detected and transduced into neural signals by the retina of the eye. This information is then further analyzed and interpreted by the brain. First, light enters the front of the eye and is focused by the cornea and lens onto the retina—a thin sheet of neural tissue lining the back of the eye. Because of refraction through the convex lens of the eye, images are projected onto the retina upside-down and reversed.
01:14Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex
The cerebral cortex, the brain's outermost layer, is pivotal in processing complex cognitive tasks, emotions, and various sensory inputs and executing voluntary motor activities. This intricate structure is divided into three primary functional areas: the motor areas, sensory areas, and association areas.
Motor Areas
The motor areas located in the frontal lobe are central to controlling voluntary movements. This region is further subdivided into the primary motor cortex and the premotor cortex.
Motor Areas
The motor areas located in the frontal lobe are central to controlling voluntary movements. This region is further subdivided into the primary motor cortex and the premotor cortex.