title: Functional Connectivity of EEG Signals Under Laser Stimulation in Migraine.
abstract: In previous studies, migraine patients showed abnormalities in pain-related evoked responses, as reduced habituation to repetitive stimulation. In this study, we aimed to apply a novel analysis of EEG bands synchronization and directed dynamical influences under painful stimuli in migraine patients compared to non-migraine healthy volunteers. Thirty-one migraine without aura outpatients (MIGR) were evaluated and compared to 19 controls (CONT). The right hand was stimulated by means of 30 consecutive CO2 laser stimuli. EEG signal was examined by means of Morlet wavelet, synchronization entropy (SE), and Granger causality (GC), and the statistically validated results were mapped on the corresponding scalp locations. The vertex complex of averaged laser-evoked responses (LEPs) showed reduced habituation compared to CONT. In the prestimulus phase, enhanced SE in the 0, 5-30 Hz range was present in MIGR and CONT between the bilateral temporal-parietal and the frontal regions around the midline. Migraine patients showed an anticipation of EEG changes preceding the painful stimulation compared to CONT. In the poststimulus phase, the same cortical areas were more connected in MIGR vs CONT. In both groups of patients and CONT, the habituation index was negatively correlated with the GC scores. A different pattern of cortical activation after painful stimulation was present in migraine. The increase in cortical connections during repetitive painful stimulation may subtend the phenomenon of LEPs reduced habituation. Brain network analysis may give an aid in understanding subtle changes of pain processing under laser stimuli in migraine patients.
authors.affiliation: Basic Medical Neuroscience and Sensory System Department, Bari Aldo Moro University , Bari , Italy ; TIRES Center, Bari Aldo Moro University , Bari , Italy.
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de Tommaso
authors.affiliation: TIRES Center, Bari Aldo Moro University , Bari , Italy ; Physics Department, Istituto Nazionale Di Fisica Nucleare Sezione di Bari, Bari Aldo Moro University , Bari , Italy.
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Trotta
authors.affiliation: Basic Medical Neuroscience and Sensory System Department, Bari Aldo Moro University , Bari , Italy ; TIRES Center, Bari Aldo Moro University , Bari , Italy.
authors.forename: Eleonora
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vecchio
authors.affiliation: Basic Medical Neuroscience and Sensory System Department, Bari Aldo Moro University , Bari , Italy ; TIRES Center, Bari Aldo Moro University , Bari , Italy.
authors.forename: Katia
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ricci
authors.affiliation: Data Analysis Department, Faculty of Psychological and Pedagogical Sciences 1, Ghent University , Ghent , Belgium.
authors.forename: Frederik
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Van de Steen
authors.affiliation: Basic Medical Neuroscience and Sensory System Department, Bari Aldo Moro University , Bari , Italy ; TIRES Center, Bari Aldo Moro University , Bari , Italy.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Montemurno
authors.affiliation: Basic Medical Neuroscience and Sensory System Department, Bari Aldo Moro University , Bari , Italy ; TIRES Center, Bari Aldo Moro University , Bari , Italy.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lorenzo
authors.affiliation: Data Analysis Department, Faculty of Psychological and Pedagogical Sciences 1, Ghent University , Ghent , Belgium.
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Marinazzo
authors.affiliation: TIRES Center, Bari Aldo Moro University , Bari , Italy ; Physics Department, Istituto Nazionale Di Fisica Nucleare Sezione di Bari, Bari Aldo Moro University , Bari , Italy.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bellotti
authors.affiliation: TIRES Center, Bari Aldo Moro University , Bari , Italy ; Physics Department, Istituto Nazionale Di Fisica Nucleare Sezione di Bari, Bari Aldo Moro University , Bari , Italy ; BCAM Basque Center for Applied Mathematics , Bilbao , Spain.
authors.forename: Sebastiano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stramaglia
keywords: Granger causality; habituation; laser-evoked potentials; migraine; synchronization