Migraines and dopamine share a direct link that not everyone knows, when a person suffers from this disease their brain undergoes changes, and one of them refers to this type of neurotransmitter, so one thing that has been observed is that when there is a lower level of dopamine, the person suffers from hypersensitivity, that is, pain when seeing light , hear sounds?
This relationship has been felt for some time. However, just a year ago, Alex DaSilva, a professor at the University of Michigan, published an article in neurology magazine detailing this complex process as a determining factor. Thanks to new diagnostic techniques and advances in positron emission tomography (PET), we have an accurate and detailed view of all the changes our brain undergoes during migraines.
- In fact.
- Anyone who knows this condition knows that there is a recurring and understanding aspect.
- We mean that sometimes a smell.
- A rub on the skin.
- A sound or even the reflection of the sun in the eyes are enough to instantly trigger a very intense pain.
- Well.
- Today we already know the mechanism by which this reality occurs.
As they say, few diseases are understood as badly as migraines. People can’t understand why we need them to free us from a dark room, why it’s impossible to be productive at work, why pain isn’t relieved with acetaminophen or a few hours of treatment. This disease has several changes in the brain that make it a unique condition that has nothing in common with a simple headache. Let’s see why.
“In the shade, away from the light of day, melancholy sighs in the sad bed, the pain at your side and the migraine in your head. -Alexander Pope-
Greek mythology says that Zeus suffered for a long time from a terrible headache. This suffering was only alleviated when Vulcan opened his skull with an ax and from this opening emerged Pallas Athena, the goddess of knowledge.
This metaphorical image allowed Arietalos de Cappdocia and later Galeno himself to define what they called heterochrony, an intense and devastating headache that, in the 17th century, neurologist Tomas Willisque would call migraine.
In any case, there is one fact that we cannot ignore: migraines affect almost 15% of the population and, as a study by the Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation of the Queensland University of Technology and published in the journal Nature has revealed, there is a genetic component. It is very likely that the children of those currently suffering from migraines will also suffer from it in the future.
Therefore, we need to deepen this condition in order to prevent and treat migraine attacks more effectively, so knowing the relationship between migraine and dopamine is definitely a good step, let’s see what this type of link is.
Dopamine is one of the most important neurotransmitters in our brain, essential for promoting synapses between neurons and for a lot of motor and cognitive processes.
In addition, a study published in the journal Nature Neuroscience conducted at the Charity University Clinic in Germany has shown that, depending on the existing concentrations of this neurotransmitter in the cerebral amygdala, we will be more nervous or calmer.
In turn, to understand the relationship between migraines and dopamine, it is important to know what functions this chemical is involved in.
Professor DaSilva, previously cited for conducting this study to test the relationship between migraines and dopamine, was able to see the following processes after conducting a series of tests with a large number of people with the disease.
Tyrosine is a non-essential amino acid that serves as a precursor to the production of dopamine and adrenaline, which is precisely why it is necessary to regulate the consumption of all foods that contain this element.
Instead of completely eliminating tyrosine foods from our diet, we should consume them sparingly, knowing that this condition generates net fluctuations in our dopamine levels, we should not promote an excess or deficit, the key is balance, so it never fails to remember which products are the richest in tyrosine.
In conclusion, the link between migraine and dopamine is more than obvious, it can be said that scientists are developing new drugs to regulate this production and facilitate the treatment of migraines, we hope so.