Table 1 Summary of included studies assessing performance of patients with migraine on Trail Making Test (TMT)

Baschi et al. 2019 [30]

Clinic-based

MwoA

29 (4.32); Controls: 27.9 (3.16)

Yes

History of migraine of at least 5 years; at least 12 migraine attacks in the last year and < 4 attacks/month; normal brain magnetic resonance imaging, no other coexisting types of headache, absence of depression, other neurological diseases, no consumption of psychotropic drugs, including migraine prophylactics.

TMT-A & B

Burker et al. 1989 [31]

Population-based

Group 1: MwA (20); Group 2: MwoA (27)

Group 1: 19.45 (1.73); Group 2: 19.22 (1.12); Controls: 18.66 (1.09)

No

Diagnosis of common or classic migraine according to Adrasik & Burke’s criteria for diagnosing Headache (in Blumenthal & McKee, 1987).

TMT-A & B

Cai et al. 2019 [25]

Clinic-based

Sub-Group 1: Chronic migraine without medication overuse (20)

Sub-Group 2: Chronic migraine with medication overuse (21)

Sub-Group 3: MwoA (35)

Sub-Group 1: 48.40 (10.33); Sub-Group 2: 48.90 (13.51); Sub-Group 3: 45.89 (7.10); Controls: 47.10 (7.04)

No

Diagnosis of episodic migraine, chronic migraine with and without medication overuse headache; headache duration ≥1 year; age between 25 and 65; confirmation of nonstructural lesions according to brain CT/MRI, in the interictal periods of migraine; no headache secondary to trauma, intracranial inflammation, brain tumor, and other neurological diseases; no cerebrovascular disorders, neoplastic diseases, infectious diseases, rheumatic diseases, or connective tissue diseases; no cognitive impairment or psychiatric disease.

TMT-A & B

Calandre et al. 2002 [26]

mixed (mostly clinic-based)

Sub-Group 1: Combined (MwA, MwoA) with 20 years of illness or less

Sub-Group 2: Combined (MwA, MwoA) with more than 20 years of illness

Reported age range for all groups: 15–68 years

No

Migraine history > 1 year, IQ > 80, no coexistent type of headache or concomitant organic or psychiatric disease.

TMT-A & B

Camarda et al. 2007 [32]

Clinic-based

MwoA

33.6 (8.6); Controls: 31.2 (8.2)

Yes

Migraine history ≥5 years; at least 12 migraine attacks in the last year; normal brain CT scan; absence of other coexisting types of headache; age ≤ 50 years; normal neurological examination; a minimal IQ value of 80; normal global intellectual ability; no headache attack 48 h before or after the cognitive session; no history of psychiatric disorders, seizures, head trauma, alcohol or drug abuse and cerebrovascular accident; no consumption of psychotropic drugs at the time of testing. However, MwoA showed significantly higher levels of anxiety and depression than controls.

TMT-A & B

Dresler et al. 2012 [27]

Clinic-based

Combined group (MwA, MwoA) with no further subdivision.

Age range not reported

No

None specified

TMT-A & B

El-Senousy et al. 1995 [20]

Clinic-based

Combined MwA (12), MwoA (26), FHE (2), with ≤20 years of illness

Age range not reported

No

None specified

TMT-A & B

Gomez-Beldarrain et al. 2011 [21]

Clinic-based

Sub-group 1: Chronic migraine with drug overuse (42); Sub-group 2: episodic MwoA (42)

Sub-group 1: 41.21 (8.20);

Sub-group 2: 36.19 (8.66); Controls: 37.12 (8.59)

No

Age ≤ 55 years; no past history of any neurologic disease different from migraine or a past history of any psychiatric disorder, except for depression or anxiety; no other chronic pain conditions; no general medical diseases; no psychotropic drugs.

TMT-B only

Hooker et al. 1986 [33]

Clinic-based

Sub-Group 1: MwA (16); Sub-Group 2: MwoA (15)

Sub-Group 1: 41.9 (14.9); sub-Group 2: 41.1 (17.1); Controls: 41.9 (14.3)

No

Migraine history ≥2 years; 1–10 attacks per months, each lasting ≥24 h; a maximum of one interval headache of grade 1 intensity/week allowed; no cluster headache; no muscle contraction headache; no history of central or peripheral nervous system disease or trauma, systemic disease, or major psychological disorder

TMT-A & B

Le Pira et al. 2014 [34]

Clinic-based

Sub-Group 1: MwA (12); Sub-Group 2: MwoA (32)

Sub-Group 1: 42.1 (10.2); Sub-Group 2: 36.7 (9.7); Controls: 35.8 (12.6)

No

No other types of headache, no history of central or peripheral nervous system disease, trauma, systemic diseases, major psychiatric disorder.

TMT-A & B

Lo Buono et al. 2017 [35]

Clinic-based

Sub-Group 1: MwA (14); Sub-Group 2: MwoA (14)

Sub-Group 1: 41.28 (13.44); Sub-Group 2: 40.75 (11.82); Controls: 41.75 (12.82)

Yes

Migraine history ≥10 years; no other types of headache; no vascular disease or trauma; no history of major psychiatric disorders; no metabolic disorders; no other neurological condition.

TMT-A & B

Martinez et al. 2010 [23]

Clinic-based

Migraine (sub-type not specified)

56.30 (6.83); Controls: 51.10 (6.70)

No

None specified but it was reported that migraine patients had no other neurological disorder.

TMT-A & B

Martins et al. 2012 [24]

Clinic-based

Migraine (sub-type not specified)

61.9 (7.6); Controls: 66.8 (9.0)

No

No known present or past history of a central nervous system disorder, including stroke, brain injury, epilepsy, dementia (known or suspected), psychosis, or a severe medical disorder like uncontrolled cancer, human immunodeficiency virus infection, renal or hepatic failure; mini mental state evaluation score above literacy-adjusted cutoff point

TMT-A & B

Tessitore et al. 2015 [28]

Clinic-based

Sub-Group 1: MwA (20); Sub-Group 2: MwoA (20)

Group 1: 30.10 (1.66); Group 2 30.05 (1.53); Controls: 29.15 (1.30)

No

No other type of headache, including chronic headache, somatic or psychiatric conditions, or intake of daily medication; patients were both aura and migraine free and not taking rescue medications for at least 3 day before testing.

TMT-A & B

Zeitlin & Oddy 1984 [36]

Clinic-based

Combined (MwA & MwoA) with no further subdivision

36.3; Controls 35.3 (range for all subjects: 20–50 years)

No

Migraine history ≥10 years; age < 51 years; Criteria by Crisp et al. (1977) for either common or classic migraine.

TMT-A & B