Circadian rest-activity rhythm is associated to mnemonic processing speed of individuals with chronic migraine

ABSTRACT

Cognitive impairment by changes in the sleep-wake cycle may be present in individuals with migraine. Adjuvant evaluation methods in this area may favor the search for new treatments. We investigated the relationship between possible changes in the rest-activity rhythm (RAR) and visuospatial memory in individuals with chronic migraine (CM) using actigraphy and the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (ROCFT), respectively. Actigraphy was analyzed in healthy individuals (CG) and patients with CM (CMG) for 15 days. The CMG had a longer latency time to start copying, copying time and visuospatial memory recall in comparison to the CG. However, there were no differences regarding short-term memory between groups. The lower relative amplitude and rhythmic percentage of the RAR contributed to the higher latency to initiate copying in CMG. In conclusion, misalignment of the RAR could be associated with a slower mnemonic processing speed in individuals with CM than in healthy individuals.

KEYWORDS:

• Chronic migraine
• sleep disturbance
• memory
• mnemonic processing speed
• circadian rhythm

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful for the scientific contributions of Prof. PhD. John Araújo Fontenele and the students of the Laboratory of Neurobiology and Biological Rhythmicity of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Authors’ contributions

Conception and design: MD, CF and RM.

Acquisition of data: MD, MM, JS, SB, GG and PS.

Analysis and interpretation of data: MD, RM.

Drafting and revising the manuscript: MD, RM.

Final approval of the version to be published: All authors.

Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work: All authors.

Data availability statement

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/09291016.2024.2349977

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico and Fundação de Amparo à Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Pernambuco under Grant APQ-0642-2.07/14.