Cognitive processing of cluster headache patients: evidence from event-related potentials

摘要

The peripheral and central origins of pain in cluster headache (CH) have been a matter of much debate. The development and application of functional imaging techniques have provided more evidence supporting the hypothesis that CH is not a disorder exclusively peripheral in origin, and in fact central regions might be more important. Event-related potentials confer advantages in the functional evaluation of the cortex, but few studies thus far have employed this method in cluster headache. Seventeen cluster patients (15 males; mean age?=?35.4?years) and 15 age-matched healthy participants (13 males; mean age?=?34.6?years) were recruited. A visual oddball paradigm was employed to analyze target processing using event-related potentials. We investigated the P3/P3d components in the experiment. P3/P3d amplitudes were decreased in CH patients (P3, 3.82?μV; P3d, 5.8?μV) compared with controls (P3, 7.28?μV; P3d, 8.95?μV), F(1,30)?=?4.919, p??0.05). These results provide evidence of dysfunction in the cognitive processing of CH patients, which may also contribute to the pathophysiology of CH.