What is different in the brains of those who have aura WITH migraines and aura WITHOUT migraines??

Question

Thanx for everyone's answers so far. You've all been soooooo helpful :-) :-).

Orinoco and mdgreg: If I can combine what you've each said and I understand what you both have said, area of the brain, vascular and neurological differences can determine whether migraine follows aura or not.

If this is correct, then, what determines which area or how one's vascular or neurological sytems gets affected? Does it largely depend on the trigger? Moreover, what explains such variability within one person (i.e., one person that gets auras that do not lead to migraine every time or experiencing laterally different migraines).

Thanx for your edit Mdgreg C :-)!! It helped.

Well, I knew nothing about my question. Like, NATA. So, what you provided me with was much more than I originally knew. Definitely. Have done some of my own research now though too. Looked up "scintillating scotoma" as well. So, thanx to YOU, I even learned stuff I didn't even want to know about :-) :-).

I definitely agree with “for the most part”. Man, at times, even knowing something is too much for me...depending on the topic, I guess :-). My mind wanders, I grab bits and pieces of what I know in relation to what I’m thinking about, try and see it from all sides, comparing what I know (or maybe *only* what I think I know) with macro-perceptions, societal functioning and its tenets and I end up feeling, well, *totally* out of the majority mind!! Hope that doesn’t sound too crazy :-). But, anyway, hey, that’s a whole other topic :-). Be well, Mdgreg C!!

Answer 1

There is a new development in migraine therapy:
http://www.neurologyreviews.com/feb04/nr_feb04_foramen.html

Answer 2

An Aura with a migraine is only one of several possible symptoms. As with all illnesses, Migraine sufferers will not get ALL symptoms, only some of them.

There are two main types of Migraine. A "Classic" migraine has the "aura" and the second main type - "Common" migraine does not have the aura. It is believed that Migraines are a genetic illness, and that 70% of sufferers are female.

On that note, there are some people who get a combination of the Classic & the Common migraine at the same time (simultaneously).

There are other reasons for people to get migraines that could be relative to other illnesses or injuries they may have or have sustained. There are 6 different types of migraines, these are only two of them.

So to answer your question - it is not a difference in the brains of the migraine sufferer, but a combination of that persons genetics, hormones, lifestyle, weather and environment.

A person who has a migraine with aura can still have a migraine without aura and vice versa as in someone who usually has a migraine and no aura could have a migraine and suddenly have the aura.

Answer 3

The issue is not so much what is different in the brains between people who have these ...

it's more a case of what happens differently in the brains between these two types of attacks.

It is postulated that both neural and vascular mechanisms play a role in migraine. In fMRI (functional MRI) studies of migraine aura it appears that the origin of the visual aura phenomenon lies in the occipital (ie primary visual) area (as shown by Hadjikhani N, Sanchez del Rio M, Schwartz D, et al. in 2001).

If your migraine starts there you have a visual aura. If it doesn't then you won't.

Although migraines usually follow the same course in long term migraneurs it is also know that on occasion it may change in pattern in any migraine sufferer and produce different symptomatology depending on the area of the brain affected - hence a patient who normally gets common migraines may present with an aura or with hemiplegic symptoms or something different - and vice versa; someone with a classic migraine may present with a headache and no aura.

Answer 4

I Not Sure, Much of the Time, I Think, a Vascular Mechanism is At Play, Let's Take Scintillating Scotomas for Example, it Might Be a Prodrome of Migraines, it Might Be Glaucoma (No Migraine).


K, I Suspect Both Triggers and Structure.

K, Not Terribly Helpful, I don't Know Which Predominates.

Cool, K, Knowledge is Good (for the Most Part), and Powerful.

Thanks K, Not Crazy, but Open to Consideration.

Answer 5

I think it's more of the type of migraine,I say this because I have had migraines with and with out aruas.