What the Gut Can Teach Us About Migraine

• Published in: Current pain and headache reports Vol. 19; no. 7; p. 33
• Main Authors: Hindiyeh, Nada, Aurora, Sheena K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.07.2015; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Central Nervous System - physiopathology; Enteric Nervous System - physiopathology; Episodic Migraine (R Cowan; Gastrointestinal Diseases - diagnosis; Gastrointestinal Diseases - physiopathology; Gastrointestinal Microbiome - physiology; Gastroparesis - complications; Gastroparesis - diagnosis; Gastroparesis - physiopathology; Humans; Internal Medicine; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Migraine; Migraine Disorders - complications; Migraine Disorders - diagnosis; Migraine Disorders - physiopathology; Nervous system; Pain Medicine; Section Editor; Topical Collection on Episodic Migraine; Gut microbiota; Autonomic dysfunction; Probiotics; Gastric stasis; Migraine
• ISSN: 1531-3433; 1534-3081
• DOI: 10.1007/s11916-015-0501-4

During gestation, cells of the brain and gut develop almost simultaneously into the central nervous system (CNS) and enteric nervous system (ENS), respectively. They remain connected via the vagal nerve lifelong. While it is well known that the brain sends signal to the gut, communication is in fact bidirectional. Just as the brain can modulate gut functioning, the gut, and likely what we ingest, can in fact influence our brain functioning. We will first review both gastrointestinal (GI) function and migraine pathophysiology and then discuss evidence linking the migraine brain to various GI disorders. Lastly, we discuss the effects of gut microbiota on brain functioning and speculate how the gut and particularly diet may affect migraine.