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. 2018 Nov 14;18(11):3918.
doi: 10.3390/s18113918.

Monitoring Migraine Cycle Dynamics with an Easy-to-Use Electrophysiological Marker-A Pilot Study

Goded Shahaf  1 , Pora Kuperman  2 , Yuval Bloch  3   4 , Shahak Yariv  5 , Yelena Granovsky  6   7
Affiliations

Monitoring Migraine Cycle Dynamics with an Easy-to-Use Electrophysiological Marker-A Pilot Study

Goded Shahaf et al. Sensors (Basel). .

Abstract

Migraine attacks can cause significant discomfort and reduced functioning for days at a time, including the pre-ictal and post-ictal periods. During the inter-ictsal period, however, migraineurs seem to function normally. It is puzzling, therefore, that event-related potentials of migraine patients often differ in the asymptomatic and inter-ictal period. Part of the electrophysiological dynamics demonstrated in the migraine cycle are attention related. In this pilot study we evaluated an easy-to-use new marker, the Brain Engagement Index (BEI), for attention monitoring during the migraine cycle. We sampled 12 migraine patients for 20 days within one calendar month. Each session consisted of subjects' reports of stress level and migraine-related symptoms, and a 5 min EEG recording, with a 2-electrode EEG device, during an auditory oddball task. The first minute of the EEG sample was analyzed. Repetitive samples were also obtained from 10 healthy controls. The brain engagement index increased significantly during the pre-ictal (p ≈ 0.001) and the ictal (p ≈ 0.020) periods compared with the inter-ictal period. No difference was observed between the pre-ictal and ictal periods. Control subjects demonstrated intermediate Brain Engagement Index values, that is, higher than inter-ictal, yet lower than pre-ictal. Our preliminary results demonstrate the potential advantage of the use of a simple EEG system for improved prediction of migraine attacks. Further study is required to evaluate the efficacy of the Brain Engagement Index in monitoring the migraine cycle and the possible effects of interventions.

Keywords: EEG; attention; brain engagement index; migraine; migraine phase.

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Conflict of interest statement

G.S. is the co-founder of BrainMARC LTD, the funder of this study. Y.G. was a paid consultant to BrainMARC LTD. P.K. received payment for her work in this study. Y.B. and S.Y. collaborated with BrainMARC LTD in other studies as well.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Demonstration of template matching.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Brain Engagement Index (BEI) dynamics between migraine periods.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Comparison of the average BEI for the first and second post-ictal day. A higher BEI was observed in the second compared with the first post-ictal day (p = 0.015, paired t-test).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Dynamics of BEI by day from attack. Only non-overlapping samples were included for analysis (e.g., if a sample was taken up to two days after one attack and within two days of the next attack, it was excluded from analysis).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Likelihood of migraine attack in 48 h according to the BEI test.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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