Elementary visual hallucinations in migraine and epilepsy.

A comparison of the elementary visual hallucinations of 50 patients with migraine and 20 patients with occipital epileptic seizures showed that epileptic seizures are predominantly multi-coloured with circular or spherical patterns as opposed to the predominantly black and white linear patterns of migraine. This simple clinical symptom of the elementary visual hallucinations may be helpful in distinguishing between classic or basilar migraine and visual partial epileptic seizures, particularly in children. Claims that epileptic seizures are triggered or caused by migraine may be artificial, reflecting problems in the differential diagnosis between the two diseases.