From “Transient Hemiopsia” to Migraine Aura

Abstract

This paper outlines the historical development of the concept of the visual aura of migraine, from the first comprehensive published description by the physician Hubert Airy, in 1870. Airy’s description of the phenomenon he called “transient hemiopsia” became widely copied and highly influential as a consequence of the language and images that he used in his presentation. This paper outlines the subsequent development of theories of aura from the time of Airy’s publication to the first demonstration of spreading oligaemia by Lautitzen and Olesen in the 1980s.

Muscae volitantes: A 19th-century precursor of visual snow syndrome?

“…The influence of the work of Purkyn e and Mu¨ller is evident in the extended accounts of these phenomena in the treatises published by William Lawrence (18,19) and Thomas Wharton Jones (17). These works owed much to the inspiration of Beer, but the contributions of the physiologists could not be ignored.…”

“…Brewster, like many of the scientists of his era with an interest in optics, was as happy making observations of his own visual experiences as of objects in a laboratory. His observations on his experience of migraine aura, for example, were cited by Hubert Airy in his classic description of the condition, published in 1870 (19). Brewster’s attention had been drawn to muscae volitantes ‘in consequence of finding in my own eye a good example of the phenomenon’.…”

Visual Snow Syndrome in Patient with Migraine: Case Report and Literature Review

“…Other characteristic visual phenomena associated with migraine include sparks, image distortion (metamorphopsia), the illusion that the perceived size of objects is larger (macropsia) or smaller (micropsia) than in reality, visual perseverations (palinopsia), and the appearance of multiple images (central polyopia). Even in the absence of a clear field defect, a patient may perceive the image as globally blurry, resembling viewing through a layer of water [ 3 , 35 , 39 , 44 , 45 , 46 ].…”