Among brain dysfunctions, migraine and cognitive decline are thought to be related, but consistent results on migraine and attentional function have not been found, which also makes the relationship between attentional inhibition and migraine unclear. The study presented here aimed to assess attentional inhibition function using event-related potentials (ERPs) in migraineurs and healthy controls while they performed a color-word Stroop task.
The study
Seventy-five migraineurs and 41 age-, gender-, and education-matched healthy individuals were enrolled as a control group, performed the Stroop task, and both behavioral and ERP data were analyzed.
Results.
The results from the behavioral data showed longer reaction times in the migraine group compared to the control group, but no differences in Stroop effects were observed. in terms of the ERP component, the amplitude of the early/late medial frontal gyrus negative (MFN) was reduced in the migraine group, and there was a significant difference between patients with and without allodynia. There was a clear difference in the amplitude of early MFN and sustained potentials (SP) between patients with and without allodynia.
Conclusions.
At the behavioral level, migraineurs showed a decrease in executive performance, but no obvious decrease was observed for inhibition. In contrast, a decrease in attentional inhibition during migraine attack intervals was confirmed by analysis of the ERP component, which was mainly related to changes in the conflict monitoring phase, independent of confounding factors such as age, education, medication, and mood disorders. Migraineurs with dysalgesia showed some significant differences in early MFN and SP compared to those without, supporting the hypothesis that chronicity of migraine exacerbates the decline in attentional inhibition.
Su, M., Wang, R., Dong, Z., et al. Decreased attentional inhibition in migraineurs: an event-related potential study using a Stroop task. J Headache 22, 34 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s10194-021-01242-6
Summary.
This study was the result of a physiological observation that attentional function is reduced by migraine. Therefore, it may be the case that an individual's inattention may be derived from migraine, as the results suggest a link between migraine and cognitive function.
