Visual distortion provoked by a stimulus in migraine associated with hyperneuronal activity.
BACKGROUND
Migraineurs with visual aura are highly susceptible to illusions and visual distortion and are particularly sensitive to a pattern of regularly spaced parallel lines or stripes.


OBJECTIVE
To determine whether the high degree of susceptibility to illusions and visual distortion in migraineurs with aura is associated with hyperneurological activity of the occipital cortex.


METHODS
In order to investigate any relationships among neuronal activity, spatial frequency of square-wave gratings, and self-described visual distortion, we investigated the neuronal and psychophysical responses to square-wave gratings in migraineurs with visual aura and in nonheadache controls.


RESULTS
Square-wave gratings provoked various types of visual distortion and illusions and induced a hyperneuronal response in the visual cortex of migraineurs with visual aura, a response that strongly depended upon the stimulus spatial frequency.


CONCLUSIONS
The hyperneuronal activity of the occipital cortex is consistent with general cortical hyperexcitability in migraine.
Huang
Jie
J
Department of Radiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
Cooper
Thomas G
TG
Satana
Banu
B
Kaufman
David I
DI
Cao
Yue
Y
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020325:Migraine with Aura / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014787:Vision Tests; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000502:physiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014794:Visual Fields / Q000502:physiology