Virtual roller coaster rides may help unravel causes of migraine

3 years ago 411

Virtual roller coasters acceptable disconnected altered encephalon compartment enactment related to dizziness and question sickness successful radical who acquisition migraines, adjacent if they are not presently having an occurrence – a uncovering that could pb to a amended knowing of migraines and the improvement of caller treatments.

Anyone tin consciousness sick and dizzy erstwhile they instrumentality a thrust connected a roller coaster, but radical who acquisition migraine headaches often consciousness sicker and dizzier connected the thrill ride. And the much radical consciousness question sickness and a wide consciousness of incapacitation from their migraines, the much their encephalon enactment differs from mean during a roller coaster simulation, says Gabriela Carvalho astatine the University of Luebeck successful Germany.

“Our findings amusement that the encephalon areas related to … processing of migraine symptom overlap with encephalon systems that modulate question sickness and dizziness,” she says. “People with migraines don’t conscionable person headaches; they besides often acquisition different conditions similar question sickness and dizziness which tin truly impact their prime of life. So this survey truly gives america a amended thought astir what’s going connected [in their heads].”

Carvalho and her colleagues ran functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) connected the brains of 40 radical – fractional of whom regularly acquisition migraine headaches – arsenic they watched realistic, animated videos of roller coaster rides connected a surface wrong the MRI scanner continuously for 35 minutes.

The videos gave the constituent of presumption of a idiosyncratic sitting connected the thrust and included sounds of the car moving connected the tracks. Participants successful some groups were 30 years aged connected average, and 80 per cent of some radical members were female.

None of the participants experienced migraines during the virtual rides, but 65 per cent of those successful the “migraine” radical reported connected a questionnaire that they felt dizzy during the simulation, portion conscionable 30 per cent of those successful the power radical did.

Those successful the “migraine” radical besides rated their level of question sickness arsenic doubly arsenic precocious arsenic those successful the power group, and the accusation they provided connected the questionnaire showed their dizziness and question sickness symptoms during the rides lasted connected mean astir 3 times longer than those successful the power group.

The fMRI images supported these reports, says Carvalho. In those who acquisition regular migraines, the researchers saw heightened enactment successful areas of the encephalon liable for vision, symptom perception, sensory-motor processing, balance, and dizziness. They besides detected much neural connection betwixt these encephalon areas and different encephalon regions.

Meanwhile, these radical had little enactment successful encephalon regions that woody with cognitive functions, including attention. And the much debilitating these survey participant’s migraines usually are and the much question sickness they usually feel, the much changes the scientists noted successful encephalon enactment during the virtual ride.

If the results tin beryllium confirmed successful a larger fig of people, they mightiness connection caller insights into wherefore immoderate radical acquisition migraines. “People who bash and bash not person migraines process accusation astir question and gravity differently, and these findings bespeak that,” says Carvalho. This mightiness assistance efforts to make caller treatments, she adds.

Journal reference: Neurology, DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000012443

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