Migraine Sufferers Exhibit "Hypersynchronized" Brain Activity

Migraine sufferers exhibit "hypersynchronized" brain activity compared to those without migraines, reported researchers at last week's APS March Meeting. Sebino Stramaglia of the University of Bari (Sebastiano.Stramaglia@ba.infn.it) and his colleagues in Italy and at Boston University in the US have found that the brains of people with migraines respond differently than those without migraines.

The researchers flashed a series of repeating visual patterns to 15 healthy subjects and 15 migraine sufferers. In each of these human subjects, the visual patterns stimulated electrical signals in different regions of the brain.

The brain responds with its own rhythms: as neurons fire simultaneously, the electrical responses add together. The resulting EEG signal is then broken down into various components, such as alpha rhythms (8-12.5 Hz) which are associated with quiet wakefulness with eyes closed.

In patients with migraines, different areas of the cerebral cortex synchronized their alpha-wave signals much more closely with one another than those in healthy patients.

Such synchronization patterns speak to the possibility of an over-active, "hyper-synchronized" regulatory mechanism in the brains of people who suffer from migraines. This finding might provide clues on what causes the severe headaches--and how to prevent them. (Paper W9.001)