THE BLINK REFLEX IN CHRONIC TENSION-TYPE HEADACHE, MIGRAINE, AND CERVICOGENIC HEADACHE

R1 and R2 blink reflex latencies were investigated blind in 10 patient s with cervicogenic headache, 11 patients with chronic tension-type he adache, 11 patient with migraine, and 9 headache-free controls. There were no R1 or R2 latency differences between the four groups. The late ncy of R1 increased significantly with headache duration in tension-ty pe headache patients. Shorter R1 latencies were found on the symptomat ic side than on the non-symptomatic side in cervicogenic headache pati ents. The results suggest that a state of hyperactivity may be present in the ipsilateral trigeminal nucleus in cervicogenic headache. Hypoa ctivity, however, may develop over time in tension-type headache.