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Understanding Headache Evolution

Headache is one of the most common health problems, affecting 60-80% of Americans. The history of headaches can be traced back to ancient civilizations like Babylon, where migraines and other headaches are discussed in early texts. There is debate around the evolutionary mechanisms of headaches, but most agree they likely developed as an internal protective response to environmental stressors. Common triggers like stress, heat, lack of sleep or food can cause headaches in people with a predisposition, suggesting headaches serve an adaptive function in response to external threats. The slow onset and transmission of headache pain via slow nerves provides further evidence it is an evolved protective response.

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Monique de Belen
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8 views2 pages

Understanding Headache Evolution

Headache is one of the most common health problems, affecting 60-80% of Americans. The history of headaches can be traced back to ancient civilizations like Babylon, where migraines and other headaches are discussed in early texts. There is debate around the evolutionary mechanisms of headaches, but most agree they likely developed as an internal protective response to environmental stressors. Common triggers like stress, heat, lack of sleep or food can cause headaches in people with a predisposition, suggesting headaches serve an adaptive function in response to external threats. The slow onset and transmission of headache pain via slow nerves provides further evidence it is an evolved protective response.

Uploaded by

Monique de Belen
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Introduction

Headache is a pervasive symptom and the most common problem


neurologists encounter in their clinical practices. It affects an estimated 60-
80% of Americans at any time. The history of headache can be traced
almost to the beginning of the history of humankind. The first description of
headache dates back to the third millennium BCE. Headache has been
written about extensively since the time of the Babylonian
civilization. Migraine headache and hemicrania are discussed in the Bible.
Some famous historical figures (eg, Napoleon) are known to have had
terrible headaches.

Much debate exists among headache specialists regarding the evolutionary


mechanisms; however, all agree on the paucity of literature related to this
topic. This lack most likely exists because headache is a subjective
symptom, because no objective measures or standardizations are
available, and because species studies are limited to humans. Two
common evolutionary mechanisms of disease production have been
described. The first is a protective mechanism in response to what the body
perceives as an external environmental stress. The second, and simpler,
mechanism is pathogen-mediated disease production (eg, disease due to
infections caused by bacteria, viruses, or other pathogens). The first seems
most likely to apply to headache.

Several observations give credence to the theory that the evolution of


headache may be an internal protective response developed against
environmental stressors. When exposed to extremes of temperature,
humans can develop the classic vascular headache. The same is true for
people who have had a sudden lack of sleep or food.

Common triggers of vascular headaches are stress, heat, or a lack of sleep


or food. People with a predisposition to headache may have a lower
threshold of response to these external stressors than other people.
Patients with migraine may have inherited the predisposition for this
lowered threshold. Therefore, some experts have theorized that headache
is a slow, adaptive response. Most primary headaches develop slowly over
minutes, if not hours. The pain associated with headache is transmitted by
the slowest of all unmyelinated nerves.

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