The physiological stress response and the role of cognitive coping in migraine patients and non-headache controls.

33 migrainous Ss and 32 nonheadache controls were subjected to 40 min of demanding cognitive tasks and 20 min of recovery during which cranial and peripheral vasomotor responses were registered as well as electrodermal and EMG activity. Ss of both groups were randomly assigned to 2 experimental conditions: a so-called spontaneous processing condition and the positive coping treatment. Reliable differences between groups could not be identified, giving no support to assumptions of higher sensitivity to stress in migraineurs. The hypothesis that the predicted cranial vasomotor specificity in migraine Ss would correlate with negative coping was not corroborated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Accession Number: 1993-45907-001. PMID: 8350289 Partial author list: First Author & Affiliation: Kröner-Herwig, Birgit; U Düsseldorf, Germany. Release Date: 19931201. Publication Type: Journal (0100), Peer Reviewed Journal (0110). Format Covered: Print. Document Type: Journal Article. Language: English. Major Descriptor: Coping Behavior; Migraine Headache; Physiological Correlates; Stress; Vasoconstriction. Minor Descriptor: Cognitive Processes. Classification: Physical & Somatoform & Psychogenic Disorders (3290). Population: Human (10). Age Group: Adulthood (18 yrs & older) (300). Methodology: Empirical Study. Page Count: 14. Issue Publication Date: Jul, 1993.