6533b829fe1ef96bd128ad97

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Cathodal occipital tDCS is unable to modulate the sound induced flash illusion in migraine

Simona MaccoraGiuseppe GigliaNadia BologniniNadia BologniniGiuseppe CosentinoGiuseppe CosentinoMassimo GangitanoGiuseppe SalemiFilippo Brighina

subject

genetic structuresAuramedia_common.quotation_subjectmedicine.medical_treatmentIllusionPainSensory systemSettore BIO/09 - Fisiologia050105 experimental psychologylcsh:RC321-571TDCS03 medical and health sciencesBehavioral Neuroscience0302 clinical medicinePerceptionmedicine0501 psychology and cognitive sciencesVisual cortexlcsh:Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. NeuropsychiatryBiological PsychiatryMigrainemedia_commonCrossmodalTranscranial direct-current stimulationbusiness.industry05 social sciencesSound-induced Flash IllusionBrief Research Reportmedicine.diseasePsychiatry and Mental healthNeuropsychology and Physiological PsychologyVisual cortexmedicine.anatomical_structureNeurologyMigraineSettore MED/26 - NeurologiabusinessNeuroscience030217 neurology & neurosurgeryNeuroscienceMigraine tDCS Sound Induced Flash Illusion Shams Illusion Visual Cortex Pain

description

Migraine is a highly disabling disease characterized by recurrent pain. Despite an intensive effort, mechanisms of migraine pathophysiology still represent an unsolved issue. Evidence from both animal and human studies suggests that migraine is characterized by hyperresponsivity or hyperexcitability of sensory cortices, especially the visual cortex. This phenomenon, in turn, may affect multisensory processing. Indeed, migraineurs present with an abnormal, reduced, perception of the Sound-induced Flash Illusion (SiFI), a crossmodal illusion that relies on optimal integration of visual and auditory stimuli by the occipital visual cortex. Decreasing visual cortical excitability with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can increase the SiFI in healthy subjects. Moving away from these issues, we applied cathodal tDCS over the visual cortex of migraineurs, with and without aura, in order to decrease cortical excitability and thus physiologically restoring the perception of a reliable SiFI. Differently from our expectations, tDCS was unable to reliably modulate SiFI in migraine. The chronic, relatively excessive, visual cortex hyperexcitability, featuring the migraineur brain, may render tDCS ineffective for restoring multisensory processing in this disease.

yearjournalcountryeditionlanguage
2019-07-01
10.3389/fnhum.2019.00247http://hdl.handle.net/10281/245700