Visual and auditory evoked potentials in migraine.

We recorded visual (VEP) and brainstem auditory (BAEP) evoked potentials in 50 patients with clinically diagnosed common migraine attended by visual obscuration or sensory symptoms but no neurologic deficit. VEPs were recorded from Oz, 01, and 02 referenced to Fz, with replication of 200 repetitions of 1.88 per second checkerboard stimuli subtending a 56 minute retinal arc. Analysis time was 250 ms., and filter band pass was 1-250 Hz. BAEPs utilized rarefaction stimulation at 70 dB SL, with 150-3,000 Hz filter band pass and 10 ms. analysis time. Two thousand averages were recorded and replicated from Cz-A1 and Cz-A2. VEP N1, P1 and N2 latencies were longer in migraine patients than in controls, and VEP amplitudes were minimally greater. No significant differences were found between patients and controls, however. BAEP I-V and III-V interpeak latencies were significantly prolonged in migraine patients, and the degree of prolongation was greater on the left. Neither VEPs nor BAEPs exceeded clinical norms in migraine patients. VEPs and BAEPs are likely to add little to the clinical assessment of headache patients. BAEP differences may indicate dysfunction of brainstem centers, possibly related to endorphin or serotonin neurotransmission, and possibly related to the pathogenesis of migraine. The left sided asymmetry has been described previously and is of uncertain significance, but may also support a central mechanism for migraine.