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Pattern-reversal visual evoked potentials in children with migraine: a correlation analysis
D Ristanović1, Z Martinović, N Jović
1Department of Biophysics, Faculty of Medicine, Belgrade.
Insights
Pattern reversal visual evoked potentials (PRVEPs) show subtle changes in migraine patients, not affecting latency or amplitude. The correlation coefficient effectively detects PRVEP distortion, indicating potential ischemic damage.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Ophthalmology
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Migraine is a common neurological disorder affecting children and adults.
- Visual evoked potentials (VEPs) are used to assess the visual pathway's integrity.
- Pattern reversal visual evoked potentials (PRVEPs) offer a sensitive measure of visual pathway function.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate PRVEPs in children with common and complicated migraine.
- To evaluate the influence of prophylactic therapy on PRVEPs.
- To determine if PRVEPs can detect underlying pathophysiological changes in migraine.
Main Methods:
- PRVEPs were recorded in 64 normal children and 20 migraine patients (aged 6-16).
- Checkerboard patterns were presented binocularly, with potentials recorded and analyzed for latency, amplitude, and morphology.
- The correlation coefficient was used to quantify PRVEP similarity and detect distortions.
Main Results:
- No significant differences in PRVEP latency or amplitude were found between migraine patients and controls.
- The correlation coefficient was significantly lower in migraine patients, indicating PRVEP waveform distortion.
- Prophylactic medication showed a non-significant trend towards improving the correlation coefficient.
- No differences were observed between common and complicated migraine groups.
Conclusions:
- PRVEP distortion, detectable by the correlation coefficient, suggests underlying non-demyelinating disorders with potential ischemic damage in migraine.
- The correlation coefficient is a sensitive parameter for assessing PRVEP distortion and improvement.
- PRVEPs may serve as a valuable tool for understanding migraine pathophysiology in children.
Abstract:
Visual potentials evoked by pattern reversal (PRVEPs) were studied in 64 normal children (age range 7 to 15 years) and in 20 age-matched patients with common and complicated migraine (age range 6 to 16 years). Most of them were studied before and during prophylactic therapy. A Quadristim set (Alvar) was used to present checkerboard patterns on a TV monitor, to amplify the EEG signals and to average and plot the evoked potentials. The potentials were elicited by binocular full-field 2/s checkerboard reversal, recorded from an electrode 4 cm above the inion, and analyzed for latency, amplitude and waveform morphology. The degree of similarity between pairs of PRVEPs was determined by the correlation coefficient. In all our patients no pronounced influence of the disease itself was demonstrated on the PRVEP latencies and amplitudes, but in most of them the correlation coefficients were significantly different from that showing the measure of normal PRVEP variations. Prophylactic medication influenced non-significant increase of the coefficient. This increase seems to be related to recovery from medication in terms of attack frequency. No significant difference in PRVEP results of common and complicated migraine was noticed. The PRVEP distortion can be revealed by the correlation coefficient but not by other PRVEP parameters. Therefore, this parameter may be useful as a sensitive measure of both PRVEP distortion and PRVEP improvement. Our results give further evidence that non-demyelinating disorders, but with ischemic damage and abnormalities in neurotransmitters, can produce measurable changes in PRVEP morphology.