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Pain from a migraine episode can last anywhere from a few hours to several days
A migraine is a severe headache that causes throbbing pain typically on one side of the head. It is often accompanied by symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and acute sensitivity to light and sound. Pain from a migraine episode can last anywhere from a few hours to several days, and it can be severe enough to interfere with daily activities.
Some individuals experience a warning sensation known as an aura before or at the same time as the headache. In addition to visual abnormalities such as flashes of light or blind spots, an aura may involve sensory disturbances such as tingling or numbness on one side of the face or in an arm or leg, as well as speech difficulties speaking.
Here is what happens in your brain during a migraine that can lead to these symptoms.
What happens in your brain during a migraine
- Trigger: As with any headache, a migraine is usually triggered by something that attacks the senses. Potential triggers include low magnesium levels, abnormal calcium channels on the surface of the neuron, mitochondrial changes, or other genetic abnormalities.
- Transmission: As soon as the neurons in the brain are triggered, they transmit impulses through the trigeminal nerves, a key pain route that begins in the brain stem and runs along your face, teeth, eyes, sinuses, and forehead, as well as to the blood vessels on the surface of the brain. As a result, blood vessels in the affected area enlarge or dilate.
- Response: The brain then reacts to the trigger with a disproportionately large response, with its electrical system (mis)firing on all cylinders. As a result, the nerves feel pain, and this electrical activity changes blood flow to the brain.
- Spread: This activity subsequently spreads throughout the surface of the brain, resulting in what is known as a “spreading cortical depression.” This spread travels from the back of the brain to the front in a manner similar to a slowly approaching rainstorm. As it passes through the brain, blood arteries tighten, decreasing the amount of oxygen that can be delivered.
- Aura: Scientists believe that cortical depression, which occurs in certain people with migraine, may be the cause of visual auras. Auras cause individuals to see black or colorful spots, sparkles, or other visual disturbances.
- Chemicals: Neuropeptides such as serotonin, noradrenalin, and prostaglandins are released by your brain in response to brainstem activity. Blood vessels surrounding your brain expand and become swollen due to subsequent inflammation and edema. These chemicals cause additional symptoms during a migraine episode, such as the throbbing, pulsating pain that originates from the surface of the brain and travels to the eyes, temples, neck, face, or sinuses. A portion of the brain that regulates hunger, nausea, and vomiting may be affected by these neurochemicals.
- Migraine hangover: After a migraine episode is over, you may feel like your brain is “off.” A few hours or even a few days may pass before you can resume your normal activities. There are many different names for this, such as “migraine hangover” or the “postdrome phase.” You may experience fatigue, trouble concentrating, memory problems, mood changes, stiff neck, etc.
- Migrainous infarction: A rare consequence of a migraine headache is known as migrainous infarction, and it has the potential to result in a stroke in some people. In this dangerous condition, brain cells die as a result of the stroke, which cuts off their blood supply.
