Visual Snow Syndrome symptoms are more common in poor sleepers.

References & further information

Australasian Cognitive Neuroscience Society Conference 2023.

References.

  1. Schankin CJ, Maniyar FH, Digre KB, Goadsby PJ. ‘Visual snow’ – a disorder distinct from persistent migraine aura. Brain. 2014;137(5):1419-1428. doi:10.1093/brain/awu050

  2. Schankin CJ, Maniyar FH, Sprenger T, Chou DE, Eller M, Goadsby PJ. The Relation Between Migraine, Typical Migraine Aura and “Visual Snow.” Headache J Head Face Pain. 2014;54(6):957-966. doi:10.1111/head.12378

  3. Thompson AC, Goodbourn PT, Forte JD. Perceived severity of Visual Snow Syndrome is associated with visual allodynia. Headache J Head Face Pain. 2023;63(4):494-505. doi:10.1111/head.14455

  4. Solly EJ, Clough M, Foletta P, White OB, Fielding J. The Psychiatric Symptomology of Visual Snow Syndrome. Front Neurol. 2021;12:1233. doi:10.3389/fneur.2021.703006

  5. Thompson AC, Goodbourn PT, Forte JD. Variations in Latent Visual Snow Syndrome: a Longitudinal Investigation of VSS Symptoms in a Naïve Population. (In prep)

  6. van Dongen RM, Alderliefste GJ, Onderwater GLJ, Ferrari MD, Terwindt GM. Migraine prevalence in visual snow with prior illicit drug use (Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder) versus without. Eur J Neurol. 2021;n/a(n/a). doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/ene.14914

  7. Buysse DJ, Reynolds CF, Monk TH, Berman SR, Kupfer DJ. The Pittsburgh sleep quality index: A new instrument for psychiatric practice and research. Psychiatry Res. 1989;28(2):193-213. doi:10.1016/0165-1781(89)90047-4

  8. Puledda F, Schankin C, Goadsby PJ. Visual snow syndrome: A clinical and phenotypical description of 1,100 cases. Neurology. 2020;94(6):e564-e574. doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000008909

Read our published work.

In the first study of my PhD, referenced here, we showed that:

  • Photophobia (visual allodynia, measured via the Leiden Visual Sensitivity Scale) predicts the severity of Visual Snow Syndrome

  • Duration of Visual Snow Syndrome is associated with perceived severity: the longer people have had VSS, the less severe it seems

  • People with VSS experience elevated sensory sensitivity compared to normative means, across a range of measures