Psychophysiology of recurrent headache: Methodological issues and new empirical findings

Abstract

Traditional accounts of headache attribute migraine to an unstable vasomotor system and tension to prolonged contraction of skeletal muscles. Investigations of the psychophysiology of headache testing these assumptions have produced conflicting results, however. Review of investigations conducted since 1970 reveals that certain methodological shortcomings may account, in part, for this confusion. Data are reported for a study which attempted to control these methodological deficiencies. Headache subjects, diagnosed as migraine, tension, or combined migraine and tension, were compared to nonheadache control participants who were matched on the basis of sex, income, marital status, age, and life events. All subjects were exposed to a variety of experimental conditions (rest, self-control, and stress) while physiological recordings were obtained for forehead and forearm EMG, temporal artery blood flow, hand surface temperature, heart rate, and skin resistance level. No main effects for groups were found for any measures, and group by condition interactions revealed no consistent pattern of results. The data do not support the traditional notions of headache.