If you've ever had a migraine, you know that the symptoms — splitting headache, nausea, sensitivity to light — mean you're going to want to spend some time in bed, in a dark room. Migraines are flat out debilitating, and the statistics back this up.Migraines are the third most common neurological disorder. They affect as many as a billion people around the world, making them one of the world's 10 most disabling diseases according to the World Health Organization. But for all the misery for those who suffer from migraines, it's been a long haul for scientists to figure out what actually causes these episodes, and more importantly, how to provide relief.We spoke this week with Gabriella Muwanga, a Stanford graduate student who studies what's actually going on in the brain during a migraine. And for good reason — Muwanga has suffered from regular migraines herself since childhood and hopes to contribute to finding better treatments for them in the future.LinksMuwanga's research profileThe Tawfik lab at Stanford MedicineThe Airan lab at Stanford MedicineStanford headache specialist demystifies migraine auras (Stanford Scope Blog, 2017)Migraine Treatment Has Come a Long Way (New York Times Well Blog, 2022)ReferencesAhn, A.H. and Basbaum, A.I. Where do triptans act in the treatment of migraine? Pain. 2005 May; 115(1-2): 1–4.Charles, A., Baca, S. Cortical spreading depression and migraine. Nat Rev Neurol 9, 637–644 (2013). Weatherall, M.W. The diagnosis and treatment of chronic migraine. Ther Adv Chronic Dis. 2015 May; 6(3): 115–123.Hoffmann, J., Baca, S. M., and Akerman, S. Neurovascular mechanisms of migraine and cluster headache. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 2019 Apr; 39(4): 573–594.Episode CreditsThis episode was produced by Michael Osborne, with production assistance by Morgan Honaker and Christian Haigis, and hosted by Nicholas Weiler. Cover art by Aimee Garza.Send us a text!Thanks for listening! If you're enjoying our show, please take a moment to give us a review on your podcast app of choice and share this episode with your friends. That's how we grow as a show and bring the stories of the frontiers of neuroscience to a wider audience. We want to hear from your neurons! Email us at at [email protected] Learn more about the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute at Stanford and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

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