Virtual Roller Coaster Ride Reveals Key Brain Differences in People With Migraine

Scientists have used an unconventional experiment to identify some of the differences that might exist in the brains of people who suffer from migraine compared with those who don't: putting them on a virtual roller coaster.

It turns out that those who get migraine attacks tend to experience more motion sickness and more dizziness when they even imagine themselves to be on a roller coaster. Their brains also show differences in neural activity that seem to relate to this.

While migraine has long been linked to motion sickness and other vestibular symptoms – conflicts between what our senses are telling us and how we're feeling – the approach in this virtual roller coaster study means detailed fMRI brain scans can be run while these sensations are being experienced.

By simulating a virtual roller coaster ride, the study found that some of these problems are not only magnified in people who experience migraine, but they are also associated with changes in various areas of the brain. By identifying and pinpointing these changes, researchers could lead to a better understanding of migraine, which could in turn lead to the development of better treatments.

Read the full news article on Science Alert