Abstract
Dear Sir We would like to comment on the relevant issues regarding blink reflex studies raised by Professor De Marinis.
Migraine and tension-type headache patients were not studied during attacks. Stimulus intensity was at least three times the sensory threshold, providing, in our experience, adequate elicitation of R2. We have discussed the limitations of 2–5-s interstimulus intervals in the paper (1), but the method was the same for each subject and group comparisons should not be affected. We agree that slightly longer intervals should be used in future studies.
R1 and R2 latencies have been reported in our previous paper (2). Ipsi- and contralateral R2 latency group differences were not found in the present study data, but these values were not tabulated because we focused on blink reflex amplitude (area).
Even if R2 duration is used in R2 area calculations, it provides additional information about the R2 time course (shape). A well-synchronized, short-duration, high-amplitude R2 can have a larger area than a long-duration, low-amplitude R2.