# Quantitative Electroencephalographic Analysis in Women with Migraine during the Luteal Phase
## 1 Introduction
These authors concluded that the spatial distribution of the cerebral mechanisms involved in the flicker response resulted from the disturbance in the cardio-vascular barostatic mechanisms. Several years later, [PERSON] et al. [20], reported frontal intermittent rhythmic delta activity (FIRDA) in EEG during and shortly after migraine episodes in migraine patients with episodes of impairment of consciousness and neurological deficit, indicating dysfunction of the upper brainstem and occipital and medial temporal lobes. [PERSON] et al. [21], identified markedly reduced alpha activity in one occipital area on the side of the headache in 19 of 22 patients with migraine. Sixteen of these patients had a concomitant reduction in theta activity in the same location. In all patients except one, when they were re-examined seven days after a migraine attack, the EEG asymmetries had disappeared. According to the authors, unilateral EEG changes can thus be detected during migraine attacks and could be associated with unilateral disturbances of cortical electrogenesis. Later, [PERSON] et al. [22], found an increase in higher alpha rhythm variability within 72 h following a migraine attack. [PERSON] et al. [23], found increased relative theta activity and attenuated medium-frequency photic responses in migraineurs without aura compared to controls. On the other hand, [PERSON] et al. [24] found the lower alpha band (8 to 10 Hz) power was increased in the migraine group compared with the control group, which may provide a mechanism for increased multiplicative noise. [PERSON] [25], described that migraine was more present in women than in men, suggesting that changes in estrogen levels at menarche, menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause may trigger or change the prevalence of migraine. For example, the fall in the levels of estrogen that occurs during menstruation triggers menstrual migraine, whereas the sustained high estrogen levels during pregnancy frequently result in headache relief. The same author argued that estrogen produces changes in prostaglandandins, hypothalamic opioids, and prolactin secretion, which may, in part, account for the genesis of headache. For this reason, one might assume that EEG patterns could be influenced by the menstrual cycle and the pain experienced. [PERSON] et al. [26], reported mean alpha frequency cyclic changes in EEG activity, i.e., slower alpha waves during the follicular phase and faster alpha waves during luteal phase, as well as theta and beta small cyclic changes in women during both spontaneous and oral contraceptive-controlled menstrual cycles. [PERSON] et al. [27], studied the effect of the menstrual cycle on EEG power during rest (eyes open and closed) in healthy women with no oral contraceptive effects. They reported lower EEG absolute power during the follicular phase; high power in delta, theta, and alpha 1 (7.5-9.5 Hz) during the luteal phase; high alpha 2 (9.5-12.5 Hz), beta 1 (12.5-17.5 Hz), and beta 2 (17.5-30 Hz) during the menstrual phase; and lower relative power in low alpha and higher in high alpha during the luteal phase. In addition, there was higher interhemispheric correlation between frontal regions during ovulation and between occipitals during the luteal phase, with no significant asymmetries. Thus, the authors concluded with the observation of a lower activation of frontal regions during the luteal phase and higher activation of central-parietal regions during the menstrual phase. Furthermore, [PERSON] et al. [28], found EEG frontal alpha asymmetry in a group of women suffering from premenstrual dysphoric disorder in comparison to a control group during the luteal period. [PERSON] et al. [29], reported lower alpha, theta, and gamma MEG power during the menstrual phase in comparison with outside this phase in healthy women. [PERSON] et al. [30], investigated the effect of the menstrual cycle on brain activation and connectivity patterns by using fMRI in naturally cycling women performing cognitive tasks (spatial navigation and verbal fluency).