title: Progressive muscle relaxation reduces migraine frequency and normalizes amplitudes of contingent negative variation (CNV).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Central information processing, visible in evoked potentials like the contingent negative variation (CNV) is altered in migraine patients who exhibit higher CNV amplitudes and a reduced habituation. Both characteristics were shown to be normalized under different prophylactic migraine treatment options whereas Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) has not yet been examined. We investigated the effect of PMR on clinical course and CNV in migraineurs in a quasi-randomized, controlled trial.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-five migraine patients and 46 healthy controls were examined. Sixteen migraineurs and 21 healthy participants conducted a 6-week PMR-training with CNV-measures before and after as well as three months after PMR-training completion. The remaining participants served as controls. The clinical course was analyzed with two-way analyses of variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures. Pre-treatment CNV differences between migraine patients and healthy controls were examined with t-tests for independent measures. The course of the CNV-parameters was examined with three-way ANOVAs with repeated measures.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After PMR-training, migraine patients showed a significant reduction of migraine frequency. Preliminary to the PMR-training, migraine patients exhibited higher amplitudes in the early component of the CNV (iCNV) and the overall CNV (oCNV) than healthy controls, but no differences regarding habituation. After completion of the PMR-training, migraineurs showed a normalization of the iCNV amplitude, but neither of the oCNV nor of the habituation coefficient.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results confirm clinical efficacy of PMR for migraine prophylaxis. The pre-treatment measure confirms altered cortical information processing in migraine patients. Regarding the changes in the iCNV after PMR-training, central nervous mechanisms of the PMR-effect are supposed which may be mediated by the serotonin metabolism.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University Medicine Rostock, Gehlsheimer Straße 20, 18246, Rostock, Germany. bianca.meyer@med.uni-rostock.de.
authors.forename: Bianca
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University Medicine Rostock, Gehlsheimer Straße 20, 18246, Rostock, Germany.
authors.forename: Armin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Keller
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University Medicine Rostock, Gehlsheimer Straße 20, 18246, Rostock, Germany.
authors.forename: Hans-Georg
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Wöhlbier
authors.affiliation: Center of Integrative Psychiatry, University Clinic of Schleswig-Holstein, Niemannsweg 147, Haus 1, 24105, Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Claudia Helene
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Overath
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University Medicine Rostock, Gehlsheimer Straße 20, 18246, Rostock, Germany.
authors.forename: Britta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University Medicine Rostock, Gehlsheimer Straße 20, 18246, Rostock, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kropp
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001326:Autogenic Training / Q000379:methods*; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003265:Contingent Negative Variation / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Contingent negative variation; Cortical preactivation; Migraine; Migraine prophylaxis; Progressive muscle relaxation