Just threw up and nearly passed out from a migraine. I know it’s a migraine because I get them once or twice a year. But what ACTUALLY causes them?
In: Biology
The best model that tries to explain It (that I know of at least) posits migraines are a consequence of a “spreading depression” in certain areas of the brain.
Trying to ELI5: to work properly the brain needs blood flow and neurotransmitters, and sometimes if some group of cells gets disrupted in one of these needs, they can in turn cause other groups of cells to be affected to, causing the migraine.
This is why some people have auras, sensory indications of an upcoming migraine, as the initial perturbation already occurred, and can cause symptoms even before the whole thing is fired off.
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