Understanding migraine using dynamic network biomarkers

BACKGROUND: Mathematical modeling approaches are becoming ever more established in clinical neuroscience. They provide insight that is key to understanding complex interactions of network phenomena, in general, and interactions within the migraine-generator network, in particular.

PURPOSE: In this study, two recent modeling studies on migraine are set in the context of premonitory symptoms that are easy to confuse for trigger factors. This causality confusion is explained, if migraine attacks are initiated by a transition caused by a tipping point.

CONCLUSION: We need to characterize the involved neuronal and autonomic subnetworks and their connections during all parts of the migraine cycle if we are ever to understand migraine. We predict that mathematical models have the potential to dismantle large and correlated fluctuations in such subnetworks as a dynamic network biomarker of migraine.