The International Classification of Headache Disorders: 2nd edition. Cephalalgia 2004; 24 Suppl 1: 9-160.
Dow DJ, Whitty CW. Electroencephalographic changes in migraine; Review of 51 cases. Lancet. 1947 ; 2: 52-54
Hansen JM, Bolla M, Magis D, et al. Habituation of evoked responses is greater in patients with familial hemiplegic migraine than in controls: A contrast with the common forms of migraine. Eur J Neurol. 2011 ; 18: 478-485
Magis D, Ambrosini A, Bendtsen L, et al. Evaluation and proposal for optimalization of neurophysiological tests in migraine: Part 1-electrophysiological tests. Cephalalgia 2007; 27: 1323-1338. **Reviews the main electrophysiological techniques in a technical point of view, with their advantages and weaknesses. All published studies up to 2007 are also reported in table form.
Rankin CH, Abrams T, Barry RJ, et al. Habituation revisited: An updated and revised description of the behavioral characteristics of habituation. Neurobiol Learning Memory. 2009 ; 92: 135-138
Brazzo D, Di Lorenzo G, Bill P, et al. Abnormal visual habituation in pediatric photosensitive epilepsy. Clin Neurophysiol. 2011 ; 122: 16-20
Walpurger V, Hebing-Lennartz G, Denecke H, Pietrowsky R. Habituation deficit in auditory event-related potentials in tinnitus complainers. Hearing Res. 2003 ; 181: 57-64
Schoenen J, Wang W, Albert A and Delwaide PJ. Potentiation instead of habituation characterizes visual evoked potentials in migraine patients between attacks. Eur J Neurol 1995; 2: 115-122. **This trial demonstrated for the first time an interictal lack of habituation of visual evoked potentials in migraine patients.
Afra J, Cecchini AP, De Pasqua V, Albert A, Schoenen J. Visual evoked potentials during long periods of pattern-reversal stimulation in migraine. Brain. 1998 ; 121 (Pt 2). 233-241
Coppola G, Curra A, Sava SL, et al. Changes in visual-evoked potential habituation induced by hyperventilation in migraine. J Headache Pain. 2010 ; 11: 497-503
Wang W, Timsit-Berthier M, Schoenen J. Intensity dependence of auditory evoked potentials is pronounced in migraine: An indication of cortical potentiation and low serotonergic neurotransmission?. Neurology. 1996 ; 46: 1404-1409
Ozkul Y, Uckardes A. Median nerve somatosensory evoked potentials in migraine. Eur J Neurol. 2002 ; 9: 227-232
Coppola G, Curra A, Di Lorenzo C, et al. Abnormal cortical responses to somatosensory stimulation in medication-overuse headache. BMC Neurol. 2010 ; 10: 126-126
Valeriani M, de Tommaso M, Restuccia D, et al. Reduced habituation to experimental pain in migraine patients: A CO(2) laser evoked potential study. Pain. 2003 ; 105: 57-64
de Tommaso M, Libro G, Guido M, et al. Habituation of single CO2 laser-evoked responses during interictal phase of migraine. J Headache Pain. 2005 ; 6: 195-198
Maertens de Noordhout A, Timsit-Berthier M, Timsit M, Schoenen J. Contingent negative variation in headache. Ann Neurol. 1986 ; 19: 78-80
Kropp P, Gerber WD. Contingent negative variation during migraine attack and interval: Evidence for normalization of slow cortical potentials during the attack. Cephalalgia. 1995 ; 15: 123-128
Katsarava Z, Giffin N, Diener HC and Kaube H. Abnormal habituation of 'nociceptive' blink reflex in migraine-Evidence for increased excitability of trigeminal nociception. Cephalalgia 2003; 23: 814-819. **This study showed for the first time a lack of habituation of a subcortical reflex, the nociception-specific blink reflex (nsBR), also indicating an abnormal trigeminal pain processing in migraine patients.
Ambrosini A, Rossi P, De Pasqua V, et al. Lack of habituation causes high intensity dependence of auditory evoked cortical potentials in migraine. Brain 2003; 126: 2009-2015. **This study demonstrated a strong intensity dependence of auditory evoked potentials (IDAP) in migraineurs which varied in parallel to a lack of habituation. The authors suggested that serotonin would modulate IDAP through its effect on habituation.
Sand T, Vingen JV. Visual, long-latency auditory and brainstem auditory evoked potentials in migraine: Relation to pattern size, stimulus intensity, sound and light discomfort thresholds and pre-attack state. Cephalalgia. 2000 ; 20: 804-820
Kropp P, Gerber WD. Prediction of migraine attacks using a slow cortical potential, the contingent negative variation. Neurosci Lett. 1998 ; 257: 73-76
Evers S, Quibeldey F, Grotemeyer KH, et al. Dynamic changes of cognitive habituation and serotonin metabolism during the migraine interval. Cephalalgia. 1999 ; 19: 485-491
Siniatchkin M, Averkina N, Andrasik F, et al. Neurophysiological reactivity before a migraine attack. Neurosci Lett. 2006 ; 400: 121-124
de Tommaso M, Valeriani M, Sardaro M, et al. Pain perception and laser evoked potentials during menstrual cycle in migraine. J Headache Pain. 2009 ; 10: 423-429
Judit A, Sandor PS, Schoenen J. Habituation of visual and intensity dependence of auditory evoked cortical potentials tends to normalize just before and during the migraine attack. Cephalalgia. 2000 ; 20: 714-719
Chen WT, Wang SJ, Fuh JL, et al. Visual cortex excitability and plasticity associated with remission from chronic to episodic migraine. Cephalalgia 2012; 32: 537-543. **This trial was the first to demonstrate that in chronic migraine patients that evolved to the episodic form after treatment, habituation of the VEPs was replaced by potentiation. Chronic migraine could thus be considered as a 'never ending attack'.
Coppola G, Schoenen J. Cortical excitability in chronic migraine. Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2012 ; 16: 93-100
Sandor PS, Afra J, Proietti-Cecchini A, Albert A and Schoenen J. Familial influences on cortical evoked potentials in migraine. Neuroreport 1999; 10: 1235-1238. **This publication found familial influences on the habituation deficit in migraineurs, which highlighted the importance of genetic factors.
Di Clemente L, Coppola G, Magis D, et al. Interictal habituation deficit of the nociceptive blink reflex: An endophenotypic marker for presymptomatic migraine?. Brain. 2007 ; 130: 765-770
Siniatchkin M, Kropp P, Gerber WD. Contingent negative variation in subjects at risk for migraine without aura. Pain. 2001 ; 94: 159-167
Di Clemente L, Coppola G, Magis D, et al. Nociceptive blink reflex and visual evoked potential habituations are correlated in migraine. Headache. 2005 ; 45: 1388-1393
Afra J, Proietti Cecchini A, Sandor PS, Schoenen J. Comparison of visual and auditory evoked cortical potentials in migraine patients between attacks. Clin Neurophysiol. 2000 ; 111: 1124-1129
Sandor PS, Afra J, Ambrosini A, Schoenen J. Prophylactic treatment of migraine with beta-blockers and riboflavin: Differential effects on the intensity dependence of auditory evoked cortical potentials. Headache. 2000 ; 40: 30-35
de Tommaso M, Guido M, Sardaro M, et al. Effects of topiramate and levetiracetam vs placebo on habituation of contingent negative variation in migraine patients. Neurosci Lett. 2008 ; 442: 81-85
Siniatchkin M, Gerber-von Muller G, Darabaneanu S, et al. Behavioural treatment programme contributes to normalization of contingent negative variation in children with migraine. Cephalalgia. 2011 ; 31: 562-572
Ozkul Y, Bozlar S. Effects of fluoxetine on habituation of pattern reversal visually evoked potentials in migraine prophylaxis. Headache. 2002 ; 42: 582-587
Di Clemente L, Coppola G, Magis D, et al. Nitroglycerin sensitises in healthy subjects CNS structures involved in migraine pathophysiology: Evidence from a study of nociceptive blink reflexes and visual evoked potentials. Pain. 2009 ; 144: 156-161
Maertens de Noordhout A, Pepin JL, Schoenen J, Delwaide PJ. Percutaneous magnetic stimulation of the motor cortex in migraine. Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol. 1992 ; 85: 110-115
Bettucci D, Cantello R, Gianelli M, et al. Menstrual migraine without aura: Cortical excitability to magnetic stimulation. Headache. 1992 ; 32: 345-347
Afra J, Mascia A, Gerard P, et al. Interictal cortical excitability in migraine: A study using transcranial magnetic stimulation of motor and visual cortices. Ann Neurol. 1998 ; 44: 209-215
Bohotin V, Fumal A, Vandenheede M, et al. Excitability of visual V1-V2 and motor cortices to single transcranial magnetic stimuli in migraine: A reappraisal using a figure-of-eight coil. Cephalalgia. 2003 ; 23: 264-270
Brighina F, Piazza A, Daniele O, Fierro B. Modulation of visual cortical excitability in migraine with aura: Effects of 1 Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation. Exp Brain Res. 2002 ; 145: 177-181
Aurora SK, Ahmad BK, Welch KM, et al. Transcranial magnetic stimulation confirms hyperexcitability of occipital cortex in migraine. Neurology. 1998 ; 50: 1111-1114
Aurora SK, Cao Y, Bowyer SM, Welch KM. The occipital cortex is hyperexcitable in migraine: Experimental evidence. Headache. 1999 ; 39: 469-476
Young WB, Oshinsky ML, Shechter AL, et al. Consecutive transcranial magnetic stimulation: Phosphene thresholds in migraineurs and controls. Headache. 2004 ; 44: 131-135
Schoenen J. Neurophysiological features of the migrainous brain. Neurolog Sci. 2006 ; 27 (Suppl 2). S77 - S81
Bohotin V, Fumal A, Vandenheede M, et al. Effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on visual evoked potentials in migraine. Brain 2002; 125: 912-922. **This is the first demonstration that VEP habituation can be modified by rTMS, leading to potential therapeutic indications.
Brighina F, Giglia G, Scalia S, et al. Facilitatory effects of 1 Hz rTMS in motor cortex of patients affected by migraine with aura. Exp Brain Res. 2005 ; 161: 34-38
Brighina F, Cosentino G, Vigneri S, et al. Abnormal facilitatory mechanisms in motor cortex of migraine with aura. Eur J Pain. 2011 ; 15: 928-935
Fumal A, Coppola G, Bohotin V, et al. Induction of long-lasting changes of visual cortex excitability by five daily sessions of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in healthy volunteers and migraine patients. Cephalalgia. 2006 ; 26: 143-149
Coppola G, Vandenheede M, Di Clemente L, et al. Somatosensory evoked high-frequency oscillations reflecting thalamo-cortical activity are decreased in migraine patients between attacks. Brain 2005; 128: 98-103. **This important trial stressed that a thalamic dysfunction is responsible for a reduced preactivation level of sensory cortices leading to the lack of habituation found in migraine, using the analysis of the high frequency oscillations of the somatosensory evoked potentials.
Coppola G, Cremers J, Gerard P, et al. Effects of light deprivation on visual evoked potentials in migraine without aura. BMC Neurol. 2011 ; 11: 91-91
Afra J, Ambrosini A, Genicot R, et al. Influence of colors on habituation of visual evoked potentials in patients with migraine with aura and in healthy volunteers. Headache. 2000 ; 40: 36-40
Restuccia D, Vollono C, Del Piero I, et al. Somatosensory High Frequency Oscillations reflect clinical fluctuations in migraine. Clin Neurophysiol. 2012 ; 123: 2050-2056
Coppola G, De Pasqua V, Pierelli F, Schoenen J. Effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on somatosensory evoked potentials and high frequency oscillations in migraine. Cephalalgia. 2012 ; 32: 700-709
Coppola G, Ambrosini A, Di Clemente L, et al. Interictal abnormalities of gamma band activity in visual evoked responses in migraine: An indication of thalamocortical dysrhythmia?. Cephalalgia. 2007 ; 27: 1360-1367
Fumal A, Schoenen J. Tension-type headache: Current research and clinical management. Lancet Neurol. 2008 ; 7: 70-83
Rossi P, Vollono C, Valeriani M, Sandrini G. The contribution of clinical neurophysiology to the comprehension of the tension-type headache mechanisms. Clin Neurophysiol. 2011 ; 122: 1075-1085
Schoenen J. Wolff Award 1992. Exteroceptive suppression of temporalis muscle activity in patients with chronic headache and in normal volunteers: methodology, clinical and pathophysiological relevance. Headache. 1993 ; 33: 3-17
Schoenen J, Jamart B, Gerard P, et al. Exteroceptive suppression of temporalis muscle activity in chronic headache. Neurology 1987; 37: 1834-1836. **This study suggested for the first time that chronic tension type headache was associated with indirect signs of central dysfunction as demonstrated by the analysis of the exteroceptive suppression periods of temporalis muscle activity.
Nakashima K, Takahashi K. Exteroceptive suppression of the masseter, temporalis and trapezius muscles produced by mental nerve stimulation in patients with chronic headaches. Cephalalgia. 1991 ; 11: 23-28
Wallasch TM. A study on the exteroceptive suppression of the masseter, temporalis and trapezius muscles produced by mental nerve stimulation in patients with chronic headaches. Cephalalgia. 1991 ; 11: 162-163
Wang W, Schoenen J. Reduction of temporalis exteroceptive suppression by peripheral electrical stimulation in migraine and tension-type headaches. Pain. 1994 ; 59: 327-334
Tataroglu C, Kanik A, Sahin G, et al. Exteroceptive suppression patterns of masseter and temporalis muscles in central and peripheral headache disorders. Cephalalgia. 2002 ; 22: 444-452
de Tommaso M, Guido M, Libro G, et al. Nociceptive temporalis inhibitory reflexes evoked by CO2-laser stimulation in tension-type headache. Cephalalgia. 2003 ; 23: 361-366
Zwart JA, Sand T. Exteroceptive suppression of temporalis muscle activity: A blind study of tension-type headache, migraine, and cervicogenic headache. Headache. 1995 ; 35: 338-343
Lipchik GL, Holroyd KA, Talbot F, Greer M. Pericranial muscle tenderness and exteroceptive suppression of temporalis muscle activity: A blind study of chronic tension-type headache. Headache. 1997 ; 37: 368-376
Bendtsen L, Jensen R, Brennum J, et al. Exteroceptive suppression of temporal muscle activity is normal in chronic tension-type headache and not related to actual headache state. Cephalalgia. 1996 ; 16: 251-256
Peddireddy A, Wang K, Svensson P, Arendt-Nielsen L. Blink reflexes in chronic tension-type headache patients and healthy controls. Clin Neurophysiol. 2009 ; 120: 1711-1716
Aktekin B, Yaltkaya K, Ozkaynak S, Oguz Y. Recovery cycle of the blink reflex and exteroceptive suppression of temporalis muscle activity in migraine and tension-type headache. Headache. 2001 ; 41: 142-149
Langemark M, Bach FW, Jensen TS, Olesen J. Decreased nociceptive flexion reflex threshold in chronic tension-type headache. Arch Neurol. 1993 ; 50: 1061-1064
Sandrini G, Rossi P, Milanov I, et al. Abnormal modulatory influence of diffuse noxious inhibitory controls in migraine and chronic tension-type headache patients. Cephalalgia. 2006 ; 26: 782-789
Filatova E, Latysheva N, Kurenkov A. Evidence of persistent central sensitization in chronic headaches: A multi-method study. J Headache Pain. 2008 ; 9: 295-300
Wang W, Wang GP, Ding XL, Wang YH. Personality and response to repeated visual stimulation in migraine and tension-type headaches. Cephalalgia. 1999 ; 19: 718-724; discussion 697-718
Demirci S, Savas S. The auditory event related potentials in episodic and chronic pain sufferers. Eur J Pain. 2002 ; 6: 239-244
de Tommaso M, Libro G, Guido M, et al. Heat pain thresholds and cerebral event-related potentials following painful CO2 laser stimulation in chronic tension-type headache. Pain. 2003 ; 104: 111-119
de Tommaso M, Shevel E, Pecoraro C, et al. Topographic analysis of laser evoked potentials in chronic tension-type headache: Correlations with clinical features. Int J Psychophysiol. 2006 ; 62: 38-45
de Tommaso M, Shevel E, Libro G, et al. Effects of amitriptyline and intra-oral device appliance on clinical and laser-evoked potentials features in chronic tension-type headache. Neurolog Sci. 2005 ; 26 Suppl 2: s152-154
Buchgreitz L, Egsgaard LL, Jensen R, et al. Abnormal pain processing in chronic tension-type headache: A high-density EEG brain mapping study. Brain. 2008 ; 131: 3232-3238
Raudino F. The blink reflex in cluster headache. Headache. 1990 ; 30: 584-585
Lozza A, Schoenen J, Delwaide PJ. Inhibition of the blink reflex R2 component after supraorbital and index finger stimulations is reduced in cluster headache: An indication for both segmental and suprasegmental dysfunction?. Pain. 1997 ; 71: 81-88
Perrotta A, Serrao M, Sandrini G, et al. Reduced habituation of trigeminal reflexes in patients with episodic cluster headache during cluster period. Cephalalgia. 2008 ; 28: 950-959
Holle D, Zillessen S, Gaul C, et al. Habituation of the nociceptive blink reflex in episodic and chronic cluster headache. Cephalalgia. 2012 ; 32: 998-1004
Holle D, Gaul C, Zillessen S, et al. Lateralized central facilitation of trigeminal nociception in cluster headache. Neurology. 2012 ; 78: 985-992
Sandrini G, Antonaci F, Lanfranchi S, et al. Asymmetrical reduction of the nociceptive flexion reflex threshold in cluster headache. Cephalalgia. 2000 ; 20: 647-652
Nappi G, Sandrini G, Alfonsi E, et al. Impaired circadian rhythmicity of nociceptive reflex threshold in cluster headache. Headache. 2002 ; 42: 125-131
Bussone G, Sinatra MG, Boiardi A, et al. Brainstem auditory evoked potential (BAEPs) in cluster headache (CH): New aspects for a central theory. Headache. 1986 ; 26: 67-69
Boiardi A, Carenini L, Frediani F, et al. Visual evoked potentials in cluster headache: Central structures involvement. Headache. 1986 ; 26: 70-73
Evers S, Bauer B, Suhr B, et al. Cognitive processing in primary headache: A study on event-related potentials. Neurology. 1997 ; 48: 108-113
Evers S, Bauer B, Suhr B, et al. Cognitive processing is involved in cluster headache but not in chronic paroxysmal hemicrania. Neurology. 1999 ; 53: 357-363
van Vliet JA, Vein AA, Le Cessie S, et al. Impairment of trigeminal sensory pathways in cluster headache. Cephalalgia. 2003 ; 23: 414-419
Casale MS, Baratto M, Cervera C, et al. Auditory evoked potential abnormalities in cluster headache. Neuroreport. 2008 ; 19: 1633-1636
Afra J, Ertsey C, Bozsik G, Jelencsik I. Cluster headache patients show marked intensity dependence of cortical auditory evoked potentials during and outside the bout. Cephalalgia. 2005 ; 25: 36-40
Schoenen J, Di Clemente L, Vandenheede M, et al. Hypothalamic stimulation in chronic cluster headache: A pilot study of efficacy and mode of action. Brain. 2005 ; 128: 940-947
Leone M, Proietti Cecchini A, Franzini A, et al. Lessons from 8 years' experience of hypothalamic stimulation in cluster headache. Cephalalgia. 2008 ; 28: 787-797; discussion 798
Magis D, Allena M, Bolla M, et al. Occipital nerve stimulation for drug-resistant chronic cluster headache: A prospective pilot study. Lancet Neurol. 2007 ; 6: 314-321
Burns B, Watkins L, Goadsby PJ. Treatment of intractable chronic cluster headache by occipital nerve stimulation in 14 patients. Neurology. 2009 ; 72: 341-345
Jurgens TP, Leone M, Proietti-Cecchini A, et al. Hypothalamic deep-brain stimulation modulates thermal sensitivity and pain thresholds in cluster headache. Pain. 2009 ; 146: 84-90
Jurgens TP, Busch V, Opatz O, et al. Low-frequency short-time nociceptive stimulation of the greater occipital nerve does not modulate the trigeminal system. Cephalalgia. 2008 ; 28: 842-846
Busch V, Jakob W, Juergens T, et al. Occipital nerve blockade in chronic cluster headache patients and functional connectivity between trigeminal and occipital nerves. Cephalalgia. 2007 ; 27: 1206-1214
Aderjan D, Stankewitz A, May A. Neuronal mechanisms during repetitive trigemino-nociceptive stimulation in migraine patients. Pain. 2010 ; 151: 97-103
Boulloche N, Denuelle M, Payoux P, et al. Photophobia in migraine: An interictal PET study of cortical hyperexcitability and its modulation by pain. J Neurol Neurosurg Psych. 2010 ; 81: 978-984
Descamps B, Vandemaele P, Reyngoudt H, et al. Absence of haemodynamic refractory effects in patients with migraine without aura: An interictal fMRI study. Cephalalgia. 2011 ; 31: 1220-1231
Martin H, del Rio MS, de Silanes CL, et al. Photoreactivity of the occipital cortex measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging-blood oxygenation level dependent in migraine patients and healthy volunteers: Pathophysiological implications. Headache. 2011 ; 51: 1520-1528
Sandor P, Dydak U, Schoenen J, et al. MR-spectroscopic imaging during visual stimulation in subgroups of migraine with aura. Cephalalgia. 2005 ; 25: 507-518
Pichiecchio A, Bastianello S, Ghiotto N, et al. An fMRI time and space spread post-analysis of the visual cortex in migraine with aura: Preliminary results. Cephalalgia. 2007 ; 67: 621-621
de Tommaso M, Losito L, Libro G, et al. Effects of symptomatic treatments on cutaneous hyperalgesia and laser evoked potentials during migraine attack. Cephalalgia. 2005 ; 25: 359-368
Gerwig M, Niehaus L, Stude P, et al. Beta-blocker migraine prophylaxis affects the excitability of the visual cortex as revealed by transcranial magnetic stimulation. J Headache Pain. 2012 ; 13: 83-89
Diukova A, Ware J, Smith JE, et al. Separating neural and vascular effects of caffeine using simultaneous EEG-FMRI: Differential effects of caffeine on cognitive and sensorimotor brain responses. NeuroImage. 2012 ; 62: 239-249
Chen WT, Wang SJ, Fuh JL, et al. Persistent ictal-like visual cortical excitability in chronic migraine. Pain. 2011 ; 152: 254-258
Shields KG, Goadsby PJ. Propranolol modulates trigeminovascular responses in thalamic ventroposteromedial nucleus: A role in migraine?. Brain. 2005 ; 128: 86-97
Burstein R, Jakubowski M, Garcia-Nicas E, et al. Thalamic sensitization transforms localized pain into widespread allodynia. Ann Neurol. 2010 ; 68: 81-91
Bjork M, Sand T. Quantitative EEG power and asymmetry increase 36 h before a migraine attack. Cephalalgia. 2008 ; 28: 960-968
Vigano A, Magis D, De Pasqua V, et al. Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCs) of the visual cortex for migraine prevention: a proof-of-concept study. J Headache Pain 2012: Abstract presented at the 3rd EHMTIC, London, September 2012.
