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Li Y, Yolland COB, Rossell SL, Sommer IEC, Toh WL. Multisensory hallucinations and other unusual sensory experiences in the context of migraine: a systematic review. J Neurol 2024; 271:1717-1746. [PMID: 38236395 PMCID: PMC10972994 DOI: 10.1007/s00415-023-12144-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2023] [Revised: 12/01/2023] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE AND BACKGROUND Visual auras in migraine have been extensively studied, but less is known about multisensory hallucinations or other unusual sensory experiences, including whether these should be diagnostically considered as part of aura symptoms. The current study aimed to conduct a systematic review and synthesis to bring together existing empirical evidence on these non-visual perceptual experiences, focusing on their phenomenological descriptions and clinical correlates. METHODS Forty-eight relevant studies were included based on a systematic search across PsycINFO APA and Web of Science, for peer-reviewed publications in the English language, from 1980 to the present. These comprised a mix of case reports/series (n = 19) and group design studies (n = 29). RESULTS Reports of complex multisensory hallucinations, beyond typical established aura symptoms, were numerous and varied in nature. Yet there were limited data on how this related to patient distress and functional interference. Other sensory distortions or hypersensitivities across non-visual domains were also evident, and generally more common in those with established aura symptoms. CONCLUSION Our findings provide preliminary evidence that multisensory hallucinations and other unusual perceptual experiences in migraine are likely more common than previously believed. Further investigations are needed to appropriately account for these symptoms within current nosological systems. Increased clinician-patient awareness is important for managing distress (where necessary), and potentially for offering a holistic therapeutic approach to migraine management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yixuan Li
- Centre for Mental Health & Brain Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, P.O. Box 218, Hawthorn, VIC, 3122, Australia
| | - Caitlin O B Yolland
- Centre for Mental Health & Brain Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, P.O. Box 218, Hawthorn, VIC, 3122, Australia.
- Academic Services, Boundless Learning, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
| | - Susan L Rossell
- Centre for Mental Health & Brain Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, P.O. Box 218, Hawthorn, VIC, 3122, Australia
- Department of Psychiatry, St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Iris E C Sommer
- Department of Biomedical Sciences of Cells and Systems, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
- Graduate School of Medical Sciences (Research School of Behavioural and Cognitive Neurosciences), University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Wei Lin Toh
- Centre for Mental Health & Brain Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, P.O. Box 218, Hawthorn, VIC, 3122, Australia
- Department of Psychiatry, St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Department of Psychology, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
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Mignot C, Faria V, Hummel T, Frost M, Michel CM, Gossrau G, Haehner A. Migraine with aura: less control over pain and fragrances? J Headache Pain 2023; 24:55. [PMID: 37198532 DOI: 10.1186/s10194-023-01592-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2023] [Accepted: 05/04/2023] [Indexed: 05/19/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Accumulating data emphasizes the importance of olfaction in migraine pathophysiology. However, there are only a few studies evaluating how the migraine brain processes olfactory stimulation, and virtually no studies comparing patients with and without aura in this context. METHODS This cross-sectional study recorded event-related potentials from 64 electrodes during a pure olfactory or pure trigeminal stimulus in females with episodic migraine with aura (n = 13) and without aura (n = 15), to characterize the central nervous processing of these intranasal stimuli. Patients were tested in interictal state only. Data were analyzed in the time domain and in the time-frequency domain. Source reconstruction analysis was also performed. RESULTS Patients with aura had higher event-related potentials amplitudes for left-sided trigeminal and left-sided olfactory stimulations, and higher neural activity for right-sided trigeminal stimulation in brain areas related to trigeminal and visual processing. Following olfactory stimulations patients with aura displayed decreased neural activity in secondary olfactory structures compared to patients without aura. Oscillations in the low frequency bands (< 8 Hz) differed between patient groups. CONCLUSIONS Altogether this may reflect hypersensitivity to nociceptive stimuli in patients with aura relative to patients without aura. Patients with aura have a bigger deficit in engaging secondary olfactory-related structures, possibly leading to distorted attention and judgements towards odors. The cerebral overlap between trigeminal nociception and olfaction might explain these deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Coralie Mignot
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, Smell & Taste Clinic, Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstraße 74, 01307, Dresden, Germany.
| | - Vanda Faria
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, Smell & Taste Clinic, Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstraße 74, 01307, Dresden, Germany
- Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, 752 37, Uppsala, Sweden
- Brain and Eye Pain Imaging Lab, Pain and Affective Neuroscience Center, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, MA 02115, USA
- Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, MA 02115, USA
| | - Thomas Hummel
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, Smell & Taste Clinic, Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstraße 74, 01307, Dresden, Germany
| | - Marie Frost
- Comprehensive Pain Center, University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, TU Dresden, Fetscherstraße 74, 01307, Dresden, Germany
| | - Christoph M Michel
- Department of Basic Neurosciences, University of Geneva, CH-1211, Geneva 4, Switzerland
- CIBM Center for Biomedical Imaging, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Gudrun Gossrau
- Comprehensive Pain Center, University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, TU Dresden, Fetscherstraße 74, 01307, Dresden, Germany.
| | - Antje Haehner
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, Smell & Taste Clinic, Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstraße 74, 01307, Dresden, Germany
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Villar-Martinez MD, Goadsby PJ. Pathophysiology and Therapy of Associated Features of Migraine. Cells 2022; 11:cells11172767. [PMID: 36078174 PMCID: PMC9455236 DOI: 10.3390/cells11172767] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2022] [Revised: 08/30/2022] [Accepted: 08/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Migraine is a complex and debilitating disorder that is broadly recognised by its characteristic headache. However, given the wide array of clinical presentations in migraineurs, the headache might not represent the main troublesome symptom and it can even go unnoticed. Understanding migraines exclusively as a pain process is simplistic and certainly hinders management. We describe the mechanisms behind some of the most disabling associated symptoms of migraine, including the relationship between the central and peripheral processes that take part in nausea, osmophobia, phonophobia, vertigo and allodynia. The rationale for the efficacy of the current therapeutic arsenal is also depicted in this article. The associated symptoms to migraine, apart from the painful component, are frequent, under-recognised and can be more deleterious than the headache itself. The clinical anamnesis of a headache patient should enquire about the associated symptoms, and treatment should be considered and individualised. Acknowledging the associated symptoms as a fundamental part of migraine has permitted a deeper and more coherent comprehension of the pathophysiology of migraine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Dolores Villar-Martinez
- Headache Group, Wolfson CARD, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London WC2R 2LS, UK
- NIHR King’s Clinical Research Facility, SLaM Biomedical Research Centre, King’s College Hospital, London SE5 9RS, UK
| | - Peter J. Goadsby
- Headache Group, Wolfson CARD, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London WC2R 2LS, UK
- NIHR King’s Clinical Research Facility, SLaM Biomedical Research Centre, King’s College Hospital, London SE5 9RS, UK
- Department of Neurology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Correspondence:
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