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Published on: June 2, 2014
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Cycling multisensory changes in migraine: more than a headache
Kuan-Po Peng1, Arne May, Hauke Basedau
1Department of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Current Opinion in Neurology
|June 8, 2022
Summary
Migraine affects more than just headache pain. This review explores how migraine alters sensory perception cyclically, even before and after pain occurs.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Neurology
- Sensory Perception Research
Background:
- Migraine research traditionally focuses on headache pain.
- Emerging evidence indicates migraine impacts multiple sensory modalities beyond nociception.
- These sensory changes exhibit cyclic patterns across different migraine phases.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent studies on cyclic sensory changes in migraine.
- To highlight that migraine's effects extend beyond the headache phase.
- To explore the central mechanisms driving these multisensory alterations.
Main Methods:
- Review of recent neurophysiological studies.
- Analysis of functional imaging data.
- Synthesis of research on sensory processing in migraine.
Main Results:
- Brain activation alterations begin up to 48 hours before migraine onset.
- Altered sensory processing persists for up to 24 hours after headache resolution.
- Multiple sensory modalities show cyclic sensitivity changes, peaking during the ictal phase.
Conclusions:
- Migraine is a complex neurological disorder impacting sensory processing.
- Multisensory alterations precede and outlast headache episodes.
- A central generator likely drives these widespread sensory changes throughout the migraine cycle.
