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Updated: Aug 13, 2026
10:39
3D-Neuronavigation In Vivo Through a Patient's Brain During a Spontaneous Migraine Headache
Published on: June 2, 2014
[Migraine-update--current concepts of migraine pathogenesis]
1Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Keio University.
Rinsho Shinkeigaku = Clinical Neurology
|February 2, 2006
Summary
Migraine is a central nervous system disorder, not vascular. Current research suggests brainstem dysfunction, not blood vessels, underlies migraine susceptibility and pathogenesis.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Neurology
Context:
- Migraine pathophysiology remains incompletely understood.
- Evidence increasingly points to the central nervous system as the primary locus of migraine pathology.
Purpose:
- To synthesize current evidence implicating central nervous system structures in migraine.
- To propose a shift in understanding migraine from a vascular to a neurological disorder.
Summary:
- Migraineurs exhibit brain hyperexcitability between attacks, evidenced by transcranial magnetic stimulation, MRI-BOLD, and 31P SPECT.
- Cortical spreading depression in the occipital cortex is linked to migraine aura.
- Trigeminal nerve system sensitization contributes to migraine pain.
- Dysfunction in the periaqueductal gray matter of the brainstem may be a key factor in migraine pathogenesis.
Impact:
- This understanding reframes migraine as a neurological disorder originating in deep brain structures.
- Highlights the brainstem and central nervous system as primary targets for future research and therapeutic strategies.
- Challenges traditional vascular theories of migraine.
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