Saccadometry Findings in Migraine Patients Without Aura

Migraine without aura is a common neurological disorder associated with structural and functional changes in the brain, which may lead to impairments in cognitive control and motor function. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has demonstrated changes in cortical gray matter volume associated with pain and ocular function in patients with migraine without aura.

This study aims to evaluate prosaccade and antisaccade eye movements in patients with migraine without aura (MWOA) and determine whether the saccadometry test is an effective tool for identifying cognitive control and executive dysfunctions in these individuals.

This study included 40 patients diagnosed with migraine without aura (MWOA) and 40 healthy controls. Prosaccade and anti-saccade eye movements were evaluated using a saccadometry test. The evaluation parameters were the latency, velocity, accuracy, overall error percentage, and directional error percentage.

The MWOA group performed worse on antisaccadic tasks compared to the control group. The MWOA group exhibited elevated overall and directional error rates, prolonged latency, and diminished accuracy (p = 0.0001) and velocity (p = 0.001) in comparison to the control group. No significant differences were seen in latency, velocity, and accuracy values for prosaccadic movements (p > 0.05), however general and directional error rates were significantly elevated (p = 0.014).

This study shows that migraine patients without aura experience difficulties in cognitive control and executive functions in antisaccadic eye movement tasks. Although prosaccade reflexive eye movements were generally preserved, significant difficulties were found in directional control and error suppression during the task. Our findings emphasize the potential for saccadometry to be an effective tool for assessing these impairments. The results may contribute to the development of more targeted treatment strategies for MWOA patients.