Your Brain during a Migraine

A headache that is pounding and throbbing. In your field of vision, there are bright, zigzagging lines. Light sensitivity, persistent tiredness, and sleep disturbances. Any of these signs or symptoms could be a migraine. Although one of the most typical migraine symptoms is an incapacitating headache, the term "headache" doesn't really encompass the full range of migraine-related symptoms. There are no two alike, and some don't even involve a headache. So what is a migraine, and what is going on in the brain to cause it? To trace the anatomy of a migraine, we must start in the days and hours before a migraine, when people frequently notice warning signs such as fatigue or mood changes, bursts of yawning, sleep disruption, nausea, light and sound sensitivity, or even increased thirst.

The hypothalamus is the area of the brain to which these warning signs are directed. The systems that cause these symptoms—our body's internal hormonal balances, circadian rhythms, and water regulation—are typically under the control of the hypothalamus. It is highly connected throughout the entire brain and becomes more active than usual in the days leading up to a migraine. The migraine aura, which can manifest as brief changes in vision, tingling, or even difficulty speaking, is another typical warning sign. These sensations are caused by a change in charge across cell membranes, which spreads changes in brain activity and blood flow throughout the brain. We don't know what causes this change in charge, but it can spread quickly across the surface of the brain, causing various aura symptoms depending on the affected region.

For instance, if it moves just a few millimeters over the visual cortex, an image or blind spot may appear in the field of vision. The trigeminal nerve is essential for the headache phase. Normally, the trigeminal nerve carries touch, temperature, and other skin-based sensations to the majority of the face, a portion of the scalp, and some of the blood vessels and cerebral cortex-covering layers. Trigeminal nerve signals are sent when they are activated. This pain pathway becomes sensitized during a migraine, which means the threshold for inducing pain is lowered. Coughing, bending over, light, and sound are just a few examples of sensations that can become painful even though they would normally be painless. It is estimated that 33 percent of women and 13 percent of men will experience a migraine at some point in their lifetime. We still don't know a lot about them, though. It is clear that migraine is a neurological condition that impacts the brainstem, cerebral hemispheres, and nerves directly.

However, we are unsure of what precisely sets off each step, why some people develop migraines while others do not, why women experience migraines at such higher rates than men, or why people's migraine patterns can occasionally alter over the course of their lifetimes. Some of these things are thought to be influenced by hormonal changes: after menopause, when sex hormone fluctuations are less frequent, some women report a noticeably lower frequency of migraines. While this is happening, some women report worsening or developing new headaches right before menopause as a result of these fluctuations. In addition to other illnesses, people who have migraines are more likely to develop depression, panic disorder, sleep issues, and strokes. Complexity in the relationship between these illnesses and migraines may be a result of the former's or the latter's mutual genetic foundation.

Although there isn't a single gene that causes migraines, genetics almost certainly play a role in some cases. The ease with which the neurons in our brains are activated by external stimuli and the speed with which they transmit painful signals are controlled by specific genes. It's conceivable that migraineurs' brains have neurons that are less likely to block painful signals and are more easily stimulated by environmental stimuli. Migraine is much more than a headache, despite the fact that there is no easy explanation for what takes place in our brains when we have this complex disorder.