What is a migraine attack like?

What happens to the brain during migraine?

Migraine is a neurological condition that can cause debilitating symptoms across various bodily functions. So, what exactly is happening in the brain during these attacks? This five-minute video briefly overviews the internal machinations behind the painful episodes. An incapacitating headache is a common symptom of migraine, though migraine can occur without any headache.

What are the phases of migraine?

Migraine attacks don't happen all at once. This interactive walks users through the phases of migraine. Scroll through this visual guide to migraine phases to learn more about migraine, related symptoms, and brain activity.

Migrane 101: data, symptoms, and treatments

Living with migraine, however often the neurological condition attacks, is a journey fraught with pain and isolation. This migraine guide offers insight into the condition, common triggers, possible treatments, personal stories, and tips for managing life with migraine.

New drugs called Gepants have been shown to improve the quality of life of many sufferers.

Journalist Eva Wiseman has had migraines since childhood. Beginning with a yawn they segue into visual auras before turning into severe pain. As it so happened, she experienced a migraine during the course of her interview with Dr. Peter Goadsby, a pioneer in understanding and treating migraines as well as getting the world to treat them seriously.

Headache disorders have historically been neglected and under-researched

Confusion between the variety of headaches—from mild discomfort to debilitating pain—and gender bias—migraines primarily affect women—have led to widespread misunderstandings of the medical issue. Medical students in the US may get as little as 30 minutes of instruction on the three major types: migraines, cluster headaches, and tension-type headaches.

20% of patients with migraines may also experience vertigo

Vestibular migraine is a common cause of vertigo, affecting approximately 20% of patients with migraine. It's the most common cause of recurrent, sudden-onset vertigo.

See this first-person virtual reality view of vertigo

This video shows a virtual reality environment view of what benign paroxysmal positional vertigo will look like, from a first-person view. It includes a virtual rendering of eye spinning associated with the condition. (Warning: Watching this may make some users feel a bit nauseous.)

Why say 'migraine' instead of 'migraines'?

Language choice can affect people's assumptions and beliefs about the subject at hand, which is why some would prefer "migraine" to be treated as a singular and plural noun. This American Migraine Foundation article examines the logic behind the grammar choice.

What's the point of pain?

It's notoriously hard to define pain, though everyone knows what it is. From day to day aches to the worst pains imaginable, this video goes into what researchers know about the purpose of pain. An estimated quarter of all adults live with chronic pain, which is defined as at least three months of pain.

When common sounds become disturbing

Misophonia causes certain sounds to feel violating, triggering a "very visceral kind of experience" filled with extremely unpleasant emotions, including annoyance, anger, and disgust. A 2017 study found that people with misophonia have elevated activity in the brain's anterior insula—a region associated with interoception, emotional processing, and behavioral responses—when exposed to trigger sounds. Ongoing research suggests trigger sound context affects the severity and manifestation of the condition.

Hear what it's like to have malaria

In Kenya, as one malaria-sufferer explains, the disease is common enough that anytime a child has a fever or any sort of sickness families and the community will wonder if it's malaria. Sleeping under a mosquito net is recommended. Unfortunately, a gin and tonic will not keep malaria at bay.

Someone suffers from a stroke every 40 seconds

Every 40 seconds, someone in the US experiences a stroke—and every minute without treatment destroys millions of brain cells. This explainer breaks down the two main types of strokes, their risk factors, and how early detection could change outcomes in the future.

What it feels like to crash an F1 car

Crashes are common in Formula 1, but due to improvements in safety measures like the HANS device and the Halo, driver deaths are far less common. But what does it feel like to crash? This video features the world's top drivers talking about specific crashes and their thought process as they head toward the wall at 150 mph.

Physiological changes to the brain on LSD can be captured via MRI

Psychedelics like LSD often take users on novel experiences that can result in lasting shifts in perspective and behavior. See how LSD affects brain activity in this video that details how scientists visually captured the psychedelic's effect for the first time.

Panic attacks are intense fear episodes that often occur without a clear trigger

Unlike typical fear responses to real danger, panic attacks can mimic serious health problems, such as heart attacks. Sweating during a panic attack may seem random, but it's a leftover survival mechanism that made it easier for our ancestors to escape by slipping out of an attacker’s grasp.

Memento Movi

Have you ever wanted life to be a little more like a movie? This somewhat absurd website shows you how far along you are in life, if your life was an actual film. Enter your birthday, how long you expect to live (using your best judgment!), and pick a film. The site will show you where you are in life—if your life was, say, "Inception" or "Wicked." A little silly, we know.

What is it like to be a bee?

Scientists have long known the intimate features of bee anatomy: six limbs, five eyes, lots of hair, a long, tasteless tube -like tongue, and wings that stroke close to 12,000 times a minute. But getting inside the mind or consciousness of a...

What is a sneeze? (And can it kill you?)

A sneeze is an important involuntary reflex to expel something that is irritating your nose. But can it kill you? No, say these silly video hosts. Although, the sneeze can expel air, saliva, and mucus at nearly 100 miles per hour in a five-foot radius. See them break it down with this quick, quirky video.

What (and why) is ASMR?

ASMR podcasts and videos are appearing all over social media, so what exactly is it, and what does it do? This immersive article explains the phenomena of ASMR, which stands for autonomous sensory meridian response. ASMR is when certain sounds or...

Hear from a couple about how they live their lives with MS—and how they met

This short narrative video describes the ups and downs of a woman's experience with progressive MS, and her husband's experience supporting her while navigating his own relapsing-remitting MS.

Learn the differences between mild cognitive impairment and age-associated memory loss

Mild cognitive impairment is a condition in which people experience more thinking and memory problems than expected for their age. It's often associated with depression and anxiety. Daily routines, writing things down, and healthy lifestyle choices can help cope with the condition, but there's no cure. The condition elevates the risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer's.

All hurricanes have a central eye where no extreme weather phenomena take place

When standing in the eye of a hurricane, you're likely to experience sunny, cloudless skies surrounded by a wall of intense winds and thunderstorms. The physics behind this formation is the same as what causes water to spiral around a hollow cone as it goes down a drain.

Erythema migrans rash is common in Lyme—but it often doesn't look like a bull's-eye

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that this rash occurs in roughly 70% or more of Lyme disease patients, and typically occurs at the site of a tick bite. The rash may expand slowly over several days and feel warm to the touch, but it's rarely itchy or painful. As it grows, areas of it may clear—creating a target or "bull's-eye" appearance.

Why do we sometimes jolt awake before falling asleep?

Around 70% of people are estimated to experience the sensation of falling and jerking awake right as they're about to drift to sleep. That mysterious phenomenon is called hypnic jerking. As common as it is, hypnotic jerking remains disconcerting and hard to explain. While we don't yet have clear answers, peruse this article in Popular Science for some possible explanations as to why this happens.

Mathematicians often solve problems using wordless mental processes

It's a common technique among expert mathematicians, where thinkers rely on intuition, blurry perceptions and subconscious work—no writing, no formulas. The state is distinct from daydreaming, and often relies on sudden illuminations stemming from extended periods of subconscious reflection.

Doctors differentiate between a phobia and fear by asking patients whether their fear interferes with their day-to-day activities.

See images of medical cases of firework injuries shared on this 'Instagram for doctors.' (Warning: Graphic content)

Visualize how CRISPR-Cas9—a type of immune system used by single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses—targets and makes precise changes to a gene's DNA.

Take a 3D tour of the Hajj, Islam's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, undertaken by more than 1.5 million Muslims each year.

While atoms are normally made of protons, neutrons, and electrons, exotic ones have been built with antimatter—alternate versions of normal matter that live for fractions of a second and are about a billion times as rare.

Researchers believe the brain consolidates memories, processes emotions, and plans for the future during dream states

See how fireworks are made and learn how metals like magnesium and copper are responsible for different colors.

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

Hurricanes, which rely on air consistently spinning in the same direction, cannot cross the equator because air curves in opposite directions north and south of it.

After her fellow cult members tried to kill her with an LSD-infused hamburger, one member of the Manson Family, the murderous cult led by Charles Manson, decided to testify against the group's leader.

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure and the challenging pace of scientific investigation.

The first horror movie is believed to be George Méliès' 1986 short 'The Haunted Castle,' which pioneered the use of special effects

Poison ivy is in the same family as mangoes, cashews, and pistachios—and they all produce oily urushiol in their raw, unprocessed state—but they are typically prepared in ways to avoid causing human discomfort.

Objects can be 3D printed with light by projecting 2D computerized tomography (CT) scans onto rotating cylinders of resin, which solidify upon exposure.

Ebola is a filovirus, meaning it resembles a thread under a microscope, though it sometimes twists and can resemble a bowl of spaghetti.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

The 1987 Nintendo video game 'Stadium Events' isn't known for being particularly fun, but its scarcity has made it a highly sought-after item that has sold for up to $35K at auction.

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.

Explore the archaeological treasures of Pompeii, the city buried under volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE.

Discover the catastrophic consequences of a failure of the US electrical grid—something that is more likely than many Americans think.

Domino's Pizza's 30-minute delivery guarantee was responsible for the chain's 1980s surge, but it was discontinued after the company was found liable for delivery driver accidents.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

Hedge funds, the private investment firms that trade a wide swath of financial assets, make money by imposing steep fees on investors and from the fund's investment performance.