A new study suggests that in migraine, the visual cortex may respond to ordinary patterns as if the brain’s neurons have the volume turned up. That hyper-reactive signal reveals a possible biological link between everyday light sensitivity and the storms of pain that can follow. Migraines are often treated as “just headaches,” with symptoms like light sensitivity seen as side effects of the attack. But researchers at the University of Birmingham and Lancaster University, reporting in NeuroImage:

Rhythmic Self Excitation of Some Cells