Like when you have a headache in your brain It may sound like it hurts, but it actually doesn’t. Namely; Headaches are not caused by the brain itself.

In other words, the brain itself is not a structure that senses pain. To give a little hint first, without arousing too much curiosity, if you have a headacheWe can say that the tissues around the brain are the main place where the pain is experienced. You can think of the headache as an illusion at this point. Well, if you’re asking how this happens, let’s see how it goes together.

Nociceptors (a type of receptor) that allow pain to be felt are found in the skin, muscles, joints and some organs.

As we said at the beginning, these nerve fibers are not found in our brain. These are just senses around the brain transmits pain signals. The brain also perceives these signals as pain.

Maybe some of you are even curious. “How do these neurosurgeons operate in patients’ brains?”, “Patients, during surgery feels no pain is it?” Now you know why. What are called receptors are proteins found on the surface or inside of cells that have the function of transmitting signals between cells. You can think of them as an on/off switch that takes a signal from one cell and sends it to another cell.

Of course, nociceptors are needed for headaches. That gives us a headache because the meninges, called dura and pia, between the brain and the skull contain these nociceptors.

But let’s underline again, it’s not in the brain. Sometimes chemicals can be released from the blood vessels next to these two meninges. This activates nociceptors and can cause headache attacks. For example, the nerve tissues, blood vessels, and neck muscles around the head area can help you feel these pains. Because the nociceptors are also located in the sinuses in the main area, they can also be caused by inflammation in the sinus cavities. headache visible.

Intense blood flow is another factor that triggers headaches such as migraines. In other words, headaches can occur for a variety of reasons and their types can also vary. With migraine, for example, it is often as if your head is about to burst. to beat. Light, sound, physical contact etc. nothing is dear to you at that moment. If you already have a migraine attack, you may also feel hypersensitive to these factors.

Or you may experience stress-induced headaches when the muscles in the neck and scalp are tense. Face, mouth and throat Since there are receptors in places like these, any problem that may arise here can also cause headaches.

However, the exact cause of migraines, a type of headache, is not known.

Namely, even if nociceptors are activated in this type of headache, other triggers activate them. factors, could not be scientifically determined. When you say why it couldn’t be detected, the reason is that there is no suitable animal for the experiments to be done to detect migraines. In the simplest terms, we can say that migraine is seen because it sensitizes the tissues in the brain that cause pain.

Some of the experts working on this topic migraine, He says it comes from nerves that secrete proteins called peptides or serotonin (the happiness hormone). They can even cause inflammation in the arteries and around the brain. It is thought that migraines can occur as a result of the activation of these neural networks. In fact, these are neural networks that cause the blood vessels to dilate. Therefore, since they can provide intense blood flow, as we mentioned above, they can be considered as one of the causes of migraines.

Some researchers also talk about the role of estrogen (female hormone) in migraines. Women can get migraine attacks during their period, which is already an intense period at that point. estrogen release aforementioned. Still, scientists believe that new discoveries can be made about the chemical factors that activate the nociceptors in the head region, and that various drugs can be developed accordingly.

Currently, for example, migraines can be treated with triptans (medication). These drugs release serotonin. receptors It blocks and constricts blood vessels. In this way, these pains can be relieved. To go back to the beginning, let’s add this: The brain itself doesn’t feel pain, but we say why we have a headache because our brain defines the pain as if it comes from the center of our head.

In other words, it is possible to say that an illusion in the way the brain perceives is causing this situation. We have listed above the regions where nociceptors are located; The reason the pain is felt in one of these places in the beginning has to do with the brain’s inability to fully understand where the pain is coming from. When the pain in that area cannot be transferred correctly to the brain, sometimes we had a headache We may feel that we need to deal with this pain as soon as possible.

That sometimes, even when the nociceptors are not active, the brain pretends ‘feeling of pain’ can produce. We can argue that this has to do with the complexity of brain activities. For example, in a psychosomatic illness, there is no damage to the body that will cause pain. But psychologically that pain is felt, this is just like him. Some scientists even believe that migraines are for this very reason. a psychosomatic disorder He says it is possible.

In other words, according to this approach, if the neurons in the brain are hypersensitive, the brain will not understand the situation they are in. interpret it differently It can cause reactions such as a headache or a migraine attack. So, which expert approaches do you think make more sense? You can share your thoughts with us in the comments.

• Sources: Brain facts, scientific focus, neuroscience
• Image Sources: Psych Central, Everyday Health, Science Focus, The Guardian, Bezzy Migraine, She Knows, Dr. Shikha’s Nuriwel Health, Healthline