Evaluation of Cognitive Function in Migraine Patients
Cognitive impairments are observed in a portion of patients with migraines, but the underlying mechanisms for this impairment are not known. Event-related potentials (ERPs) have been recorded to clarify the mechanism, and the ERPs suggest that migraineurs exhibit exacerbated attention, executive dysfunction, and lack of habituation. Many factors, such as migraine phase, subtype, illness severity and duration, and preventive medicine use, are directly and indirectly involved in the cognitive function of migraine patients. Few reports have systematically considered these factors during the evaluation of cognitive function in migraine patients. In addition, the neuroanatomical basis for these cognitive dysfunctions is not clear. Recently, spatiotemporal analyses of ERPs using multichannel EEG recording have been developed, which might aid in the clarification of the relationships between cognitive dysfunction and the underlying neuropathological mechanisms. The relationships between the cortical electrical activity distribution of ERP components using standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA) and pathogenic factors were clarified in this study.