Migraine And Dopamine: A Painful Relationship

Migraine and dopamine have a direct link that not everyone is aware of. When a person suffers from migraines, the brain will go through changes. One of these changes affects this type of neurotransmitter. Researchers have discovered that when a person has lower dopamine levels, they tend to suffer from hypersensitivity. With the other person, this person experiences pain when he or she sees light or hears sound.

There has been some speculation regarding this relationship. However, it was not until about a year ago that Alex DaSilva, a professor at the University of Michigan, published an article in the journal Neurology in which he addressed and described this complex process. Thanks to new diagnostic techniques and advances in position-emission tomography (PET), we now have accurate and detailed images of every change that the brain undergoes in migraines.

In fact, anyone who has had this condition knows that there are recurring symptoms that can be exhausting. In some cases, a certain smell, a touch, sound and even the sun’s reflection may be enough to immediately experience intense pain.

This is a condition that is not fully understood. If you have not experienced it before, it can be difficult to understand why a dark room makes you feel relieved or why you can not be productive. Things like painkillers and a few hours of rest are not enough to relieve the pain. Migraine causes many changes in the brain that make it different from a normal headache. Let’s analyze them.

Greek mythology tells us that Zeus had an abominable headache for a long time. Vulcan relieved his suffering by opening his skull with his ax. Athena, the goddess of wisdom, then came out of his skull.

Arateus of Cappadocia used this metaphor to define what is called heterochrony, which is an intense and devastating headache. The neurologist Thomas Willis later called it migraine.

There is one fact we cannot ignore. Migraines affect almost 15% of the population. According to the Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovations at Queensland University of Technology, it is genetic. It is therefore very likely that children of people suffering from migraines will also be affected in the future.

We must therefore continue to investigate this condition in order to prevent it and treat it better. If we are to be able to do this, it is therefore good if we know the relationship between migraine and dopamine. Let’s look at what this relationship consists of.

Dopamine is one of the most important neurotransmitters in the brain. It is important for many motor and cognitive processes. According to a study in the journal Nature Neuroscience by Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the concentrations of this neurotransmitter in your amygdala will determine if you are a nervous or calm person.

To understand the relationship between migraine and dopamine, it is important to know the functions in which this chemical participates:

• Memory, attention, motivation and problem solving
• Motor abilities
• State of mind
• Learning
• Reward system
• Pain

Professor DaSilva made the following discoveries after performing a number of tests on a large number of people suffering from this condition:

• The tests showed that there are longer levels of dopamine during a migraine attack. This creates a hypersensitivity. In other words, stimuli such as light, sound and smells can cause pain.
• If you apply something warm to a person with migraines, dopamine levels will increase. This increase in dopamine causes other symptoms such as dizziness and vomiting.

All this makes the experts wonder if migraines are related to problems with dopamine fluctuations. There are times when they decrease and others when they increase if there are certain stimuli, such as heat.

Tyrosine is a non-essential amino acid that affects the production of dopamine and adrenaline. It is therefore necessary to regulate the intake of all foods that contain tyrosine.

We should not remove foods that contain tyrosine from our diet, but we should try to regulate our intake. Keep in mind that this condition creates fluctuations in our dopamine levels, and one should therefore remember not to generate too much or too little dopamine. It is important to have a balance. It is therefore good to know which foods are high in tyrosine:

• Beef, chicken, pork and lamb
• Salmon and cod
• Dairy products
• Egg
• Soy drinks

There is a strong relationship between migraine and dopamine. Researchers are currently developing new drugs to regulate dopamine production so that they can sooner or later create an effective treatment.