Connecting Patient-Reported Cognitive Symptoms With Objective Findings in Migraine: Laura Sebrow, PhD

WATCH TIME: 6 minutes

"It’s important to align their subjective experience with the objective cognitive performance because that’s really going to help build a complete clinical picture."

Studies have reported that patients with migraine may experience challenges related to attention, memory, and episodes of confusion during migraine attacks, which could affect their cognitive functioning. Clinic-based research has also observed differences in cognitive performance, such as in verbal and visuospatial memory, processing speed, executive function, and attention, during interictal periods. Other findings suggest that those with migraine may require more time for certain cognitive processes and may exhibit cortical hyperexcitability and reduced habituation to repeated stimuli.¹

At the recently concluded 2025 American Headache Society (AHS) Annual Meeting, held June 19-22 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Laura Sebrow, PhD, presented findings in a scientific session from a study that examined the relationship between subjective cognitive symptoms and objective cognitive performance in patients with migraine during the interictal phase. In the study, results showed that patients who exhibited difficulty with word finding as a migraine prodrome symptom had weaker interictal objective cognitive performance in processing speed, language, and memory compared with those who did not have difficulty.²

During the meeting, Sebrow, postdoctoral neuropsychology fellow at North Shore University Hospital, spoke NeurologyLive^® on how these prodromal symptoms are often underrecognized in patients with migraine but can significantly affect their day-to-day functioning. In the conversation, she noted that clinicians could better assess the cognitive domains most impacted and offer targeted, patient-centered strategies by exploring when and how these symptoms arise. Additionally, she underscored that the alignment of subjective reports with cognitive exam results could help create a more accurate clinical picture and guide more effective migraine care planning.

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REFERENCES
1. Fernandes C, Dapkute A, Watson E, Kazaishvili I, Chądzyński P, Varanda S, Di Antonio S, Munday V, MaassenVanDenBrink A, Lampl C; European Headache Federation School of Advanced Studies (EHF-SAS). Migraine and cognitive dysfunction: a narrative review. J Headache Pain. 2024 Dec 19;25(1):221. doi: 10.1186/s10194-024-01923-y. PMID: 39701926; PMCID: PMC11657937.
2. Sebrow L. The Relationships between Subjective Word Finding and Concentration Difficulties during the Migraine Prodrome and Interictal Objective Cognitive Performance. Presented at: 2025 AHS Annual Meeting; June 19-22; Minneapolis, MN. Scientific Abstracts 1 Session.