No Evidence of Reduced Contrast Sensitivity in Migraine-with-Aura for Large, Narrowband, Centrally Presented Noise-Masked Stimuli.

Jordi M Asher,Paul B Hibbard,Louise O’Hare

doi:10.3390/vision5020032

Jordi M Asher, Paul B Hibbard + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/vision5020032

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Abstract

Individuals with migraine aura show differences in visual perception compared to control groups. Measures of contrast sensitivity have suggested that people with migraine aura are less able to exclude external visual noise, and that this relates to higher variability in neural processing. The current study compared contrast sensitivity in migraine with aura and control groups for narrow-band grating stimuli at 2 and 8 cycles/degree, masked by Gaussian white noise. We predicted that contrast sensitivity would be lower in the migraine with aura group at high noise levels. Contrast sensitivity was higher for the low spatial frequency stimuli, and decreased with the strength of the masking noise. We did not, however, find any evidence of reduced contrast sensitivity associated with migraine with aura. We propose alternative methods as a more targeted assessment of the role of neural noise and excitability as contributing factors to migraine aura.

Highlights

The current study investigated the effect of increasing stimulus noise in contrast detection for a migraine with aura group in comparison with a control group
There was no main effect of group (F(1,29) = 1.605, p = 0.216, partial η2 = 0.052), meaning that overall there was no difference in sensitivity between people with migraine with aura and the control group
We assessed whether contrast sensitivity deficits in migraine with aura would be evident only at high levels of external noise, and whether any such effects are influenced by the spatial frequency of the target stimuli

Summary

Introduction

Visual discomfort to certain patterns and sensitivity to flickering light are commonly reported sensory triggers of migraine. Between 4% and 7% of people with migraine experience sensory disturbances immediately preceding the onset of an attack [4]. These disturbances, or aura, while primarily visual, can occur in any sensory modality. Those with migraine aura typically experience hallucinations immediately before the onset of the headache [5], aura can occur without the headache [2]. Visual aura typically consists of expanding “fortification spectra” (shimmering zig-zag patterns) and a central scotoma (area of temporary blindness), there are many other types of more complex aura hallucination [6]

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