In approximately 10% of people who suffer from migraines, the actual migraine attack begins with neurological disorders.
The time phase in which these disturbances can be observed is called the aura. The origin of the word aura is traced back to Pilops, a teacher of Galen. Pilops observed the typical spreading phenomenon of migraines. The neurological disorders began in the hand or foot and gradually spread upward to the head. To explain such spreads, Pilops assumed that cold vapors gradually expand upwards from the extremities in the body to the brain. These rising airborne vapors should move in the veins. Accordingly, he called the processes during the neurological symptoms of migraine attacks air-containing vapor: The word “aura” is the Greek name for vapor. Modern concepts about the development of migraines assume that the function of the cerebral cortex is temporarily disturbed during the attack and that these disturbances spread over time. It is therefore understandable that symptoms can occur precisely within the functions of the cerebral cortex with all its integrative services. Migraine aura can affect all neurological and psychological functions of the central nervous system. What is characteristic of migraine aura is that the symptoms occur episodically, gradually increase over a certain period of time and then subside again. Simple, structural changes include, for example, glowing sparks, lightning, geometric figures such as zigzag lines, circles, sawtooth-like structured figures, and other conceivable or unthinkable appearances. These visual impressions can appear singularly in the field of vision, but they can also move in the field of vision in a multitude, almost like flocks of birds. The impressions can be of a pleasant nature, of interest to the person concerned and even sometimes observed with rapturous emotion because of their beauty. On the other hand, they can also be experienced as painful due to their great intensity and, for example, in the event that blindness occurs, can be associated with great fear and anxiety. The impressions can be perceived incidentally, as if the glasses were slightly dirty due to streaks and veils on the lens. Others experience these impressions as if they were looking through heated air and seeing a corresponding streak. Still others experience their visual impressions as a reflection of their surroundings on a surface of water ruffled by the wind - blurred and unsettled.
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