Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation over the left temporal pole restores normal visual evoked potential habituation in interictal migraineurs

The Journal of Headache and Pain

Ilaria Bove¹  Francesca Cortese¹  Mariano Serrao¹  Francesco Pierelli¹  Cherubino Di Lorenzo²  Gianluca Coppola³  Vincenzo Parisi³  Armando Perrotta⁴  Maurizio Evangelista⁵ 

[1] Department of Medico-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, Sapienza University of Rome Polo Pontino;Don Carlo Gnocchi, Onlus Foundation;G. B. Bietti Foundation IRCCS, Research Unit of Neurophysiology of Vision and Neuro-Ophthalmology;INM Neuromed IRCCS;Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore/CIC, Istituto di Anestesiologia, Rianimazione e Terapia del Dolore;

关键词: Ventral stream;    Visual system;    Somatosensory system;    Synaptic plasticity;    Neurostimulation;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s10194-017-0778-2

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Abstract Background Neuroimaging data has implicated the temporal pole (TP) in migraine pathophysiology; the density and functional activity of the TP were reported to fluctuate in accordance with the migraine cycle. Yet, the exact link between TP morpho-functional abnormalities and migraine is unknown. Here, we examined whether non-invasive anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) ameliorates abnormal interictal multimodal sensory processing in patients with migraine. Methods We examined the habituation of visual evoked potentials and median nerve somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEP) before and immediately after 20-min anodal tDCS (2 mA) or sham stimulation delivered over the left TP in interictal migraineurs. Results Prior to tDCS, interictal migraineurs did not exhibit habituation in response to repetitive visual or somatosensory stimulation. After anodal tDCS but not sham stimulation, migraineurs exhibited normal habituation responses to visual stimulation; however, tDCS had no effect on SSEP habituation in migraineurs. Conclusion Our study shows for the first time that enhancing excitability of the TP with anodal tDCS normalizes abnormal interictal visual information processing in migraineurs. This finding has implications for the role of the TP in migraine, and specifically highlights the ventral stream of the visual pathway as a pathophysiological neural substrate for abnormal visual processing in migraine.

【 授权许可】

Unknown