According to studies, in Europe and the United States the number of women suffering from migraine is practically three times higher than that of men. An article published in the magazineBrainreveals that those affected by this disease have athickening in two areas of the brain that is not detected even in healthy people, nor in men with migraine.
Specifically, these thickenings occur in theposterior insula, an area related to pain, and in theNP. This area, although it has recently been linked to migraines, could also be the center of the brain that houses a person’s consciousness and sense of ‘I’.
How do these differences translate into everyday life? To verify this, the scientists compared the brain activity of volunteers with migraine headaches while they underwent a painful experience that consisted of touching a very hot cup of coffee. In women with migraines, “these thicker areas ‘talked’ to each other and worked together to respond to pain,” explains Nasim Maleki of Children’s Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School. In addition, the researchers found that, in response to pain,almost all the strongest responding structures in women were part of the emotional circuits. “In men, when pain comes, the brain says ‘oops!’ In women, the brain says ‘AAAAAAAAAAAU!'” Maleki explained.
For experts, these results could explain why the proportion of women with migraines who end up experiencing anxiety or depression is higher than that of men. Furthermore, these differences should be taken into account when developing therapies against the disease. “More attention should be paid to gender,” says Maleki. “Almost all animal studies have been done with male mice, and women are underrepresented in clinical research.”
