title: The impact of a migraine attack and its after-effects on perceptual organization, attention, and working memory.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Many migraine patients report cognitive complaints during the first hours or days following a migraine attack. The aim of this study was to assess whether and which cognitive (perceptual, attentional, or memory) processes are impaired during the first 48 hours after a migraine attack.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three different cognitive tasks (global-local task, the attentional network task, and N-back task) were administered to 16 migraine patients (13 migraine without aura; mean age 58 years, 15 female) and 18 controls (59 years, 15 female), matched on age, gender, and educational level. Tasks were administered at three time points; during the first headache free day following a migraine attack (first session), 24 hours later (second session), and 12 days after the attack (third session).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The attentional network and N-back tasks showed no significant differences between migraineurs and controls. In the global-local task, controls showed faster reaction times to global than to local stimuli, which is the standard global-precedence effect. This effect was absent in the migraineurs in all three sessions, especially if they used prophylaxis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Migraineurs had no impaired attentional or working-memory functioning in the 2 days after an attack. They did show impairments in the processing of global visual features compared with controls, both between and immediately after an attack.
authors.affiliation: Haga Hospital, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Hille
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Koppen
authors.forename: Inge
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Palm-Meinders
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kruit
authors.forename: Vera
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Aryo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nugroho
authors.forename: Iris
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Westhof
authors.forename: Gisela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Terwindt
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van Buchem
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ferrari
authors.forename: Bernhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hommel
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D020325:Migraine with Aura / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009949:Orientation / Q000502:physiology; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*