It appears that, with the modern imaging techniques, we are making headway in understanding the mechanism of formation of migraine. One of these theories suggests that certain arteries in our brain contract and cause a reduction blood flow to the visual area of our brain. It is suggested that this reduction of blood flow results in the visual and other symptoms that accompany a migraine. Then, when blood vessels expand and put pressure on the nerves in the artery wall, there is pain. The underlying causes of these contractions and dilations of the cortroid arteries are more obscure.
Susceptibility tends to run in families and affects more women than men.
Migraine patients are more prone to fainting when standing up suddenly than other people, and they are also more sensitive than other people to the vasodilatory effects of physical and chemical agents. Another theory proposes that nerve cells in the brain begin to lose function which causes a reduction in blood flow, which reduces levels of magnesium, which in turn adds to decreasing nerve cell function and that this dysfunction spreads in a wave like fashion to all effected areas. Serotonin Many researchers feel that serotonin, an important brain chemical may fuel migraines. You can trigger a release of serotonin by eating certain foods, drinking certain beverages, stressing out or sometimes just oversleeping. When this happens, the blood vessels in your head narrow.