Motion perception in migraineurs: abnormalities are not related to attention

Authors: McKendrick, AM; Badcock, DR¹; Badcock, JC²; Gurgone, M¹

Source: Cephalalgia, Volume 26, Number 9, September 2006 , pp. 1131-1136(6)

Buy & download fulltext article:

Price: $48.00 plus tax (Refund Policy)

Abstract:

McKendrick AM, Badcock DR, Badcock JC & Gurgone M. Motion perception in migraineurs: abnormalities are not related to attention. Cephalalgia 2006; 26:1131-1136. London. ISSN 0333-1024

Migraine groups have impaired ability to identify global motion direction in noisy random dot stimuli, an observation that has been used as evidence for cortical hyperexcitability. Several studies have also suggested abnormalities in cognitive processing, particularly in the domains of attention, visuo-spatial processing and memory. This study aimed to determine whether poor performance by migraineurs in motion coherence tasks could be explained by non-visual cognitive factors such as attention. Twenty-nine migraineurs and 27 non-headache controls participated. Global motion coherence thresholds were measured along with measures of neuropsychological function, using the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS). The migraine group had significantly higher motion coherence thresholds than controls. No significant difference in attention or any other RBANS index score was found between groups. Index scores did not correlate with motion perception thresholds. This study does not support inattention or other cognitive abnormality as an explanation for motion perception anomalies in migraine.

Keywords: Attention; cognition; migraine; motion processing; vision

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2982.2006.01182.x

Affiliations: 1: School of Psychology and 2: Centre for Clinical Research in Neuropsychiatry/Graylands Hospital and School of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Australia

Publication date: 2006-09-01