No deficit in neurocortical information processing in patients with cleft lip and palate.

BACKGROUND: Cleft lip and palate (CLP) represents the most common malformation of the midfacial region worldwide. It can be suggested that the facial stigmatization, the speech impediment, and the long-standing pressure of treatment cause a range of life stressors. Neurocortical information is influenced by physiological and psychological factors and varies significantly in patients suffering from chronic stress, anxiety, depression, or other psychopathological conditions following maladaptation. The aims of the present study were to investigate the neurocortical information processing of patients with CLP using the contingent negative variation (CNV) paradigm and to evaluate secondary psychopathology, anxiety, and depression. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-five adults with CLP and 25 healthy volunteers, matched in age and gender, were investigated using recordings of the CNV. Initial CNV (iCNV), late CNV (lCNV), and total CNV (tCNV) as well as habituation slope of the iCNV were determined in each subject. Additionally, each participant had to complete the hospital anxiety and depression questionnaire (HADS) and the Symptom Checklist-90-R (SCL-90-R). RESULTS: Individuals with CLP did not differ significantly from healthy subjects according to any of the CNV parameters investigated. No correlations could be revealed between the measured items and the confounding factors age and gender. Additionally, there were no differences between the groups regarding depression and SCL-90-R; however, anxiety showed significant group differences on a subclinical level. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that subjects with CLP show normal neurocortical information processing. It seems likely that CLP and its treatment have no impact on psychosocial functioning and neurophysiological mechanisms of attention. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The specific living conditions of patients with CLP do not result in disease-specific neurophysiological changes.

Migraine and Meditation: Characteristics of Cortical Activity and Stress Coping in Migraine Patients, Meditators and Healthy Controls-An Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study.

The aim of this exploratory cross-sectional study was to investigate the characteristics of cortical activity and stress coping in migraine patients, meditation experienced subjects, and healthy controls. 45 meditation experienced subjects, 46 migraine patients, and 46 healthy controls took part in the study. Cortical activity was measured with the contingent negative variation (CNV), a slow cortical event-related potential. Stress coping was examined with the standardized Stress Coping Questionnaire SVF-78. A one-way analysis of variance was used to investigate possible differences between the groups. CNV-amplitude was significantly higher in migraineurs than in controls. The meditators showed significantly lowest amplitudes. Migraine patients used negative stress-coping strategies significantly more often than meditators and healthy controls. Especially the application of the strategy "rumination" was most frequent in migraine patients and least frequent in meditators. Moreover, frequent rumination was significantly correlated with high CNV-amplitudes. Cortical and stress processing in people with meditation experience was improved compared to migraine patients and healthy controls.

Progressive muscle relaxation reduces migraine frequency and normalizes amplitudes of contingent negative variation (CNV).

BACKGROUND: Central information processing, visible in evoked potentials like the contingent negative variation (CNV) is altered in migraine patients who exhibit higher CNV amplitudes and a reduced habituation. Both characteristics were shown to be normalized under different prophylactic migraine treatment options whereas Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) has not yet been examined. We investigated the effect of PMR on clinical course and CNV in migraineurs in a quasi-randomized, controlled trial. METHODS: Thirty-five migraine patients and 46 healthy controls were examined. Sixteen migraineurs and 21 healthy participants conducted a 6-week PMR-training with CNV-measures before and after as well as three months after PMR-training completion. The remaining participants served as controls. The clinical course was analyzed with two-way analyses of variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures. Pre-treatment CNV differences between migraine patients and healthy controls were examined with t-tests for independent measures. The course of the CNV-parameters was examined with three-way ANOVAs with repeated measures. RESULTS: After PMR-training, migraine patients showed a significant reduction of migraine frequency. Preliminary to the PMR-training, migraine patients exhibited higher amplitudes in the early component of the CNV (iCNV) and the overall CNV (oCNV) than healthy controls, but no differences regarding habituation. After completion of the PMR-training, migraineurs showed a normalization of the iCNV amplitude, but neither of the oCNV nor of the habituation coefficient. CONCLUSIONS: The results confirm clinical efficacy of PMR for migraine prophylaxis. The pre-treatment measure confirms altered cortical information processing in migraine patients. Regarding the changes in the iCNV after PMR-training, central nervous mechanisms of the PMR-effect are supposed which may be mediated by the serotonin metabolism.