Trauma and Migraines- TICN January 2022 Presentation

Presenter: Dan Kaufmann, Ph.D.

I am currently a Research Assistant Professor at the Department of Neurology, University of Utah. I was trained as a medicinal chemist and have extensive experience in drug design and synthesis. In the last several years I have studied the modulation of migraine by sex, stress, and affect, and currently expanded my interest to address musculoskeletal pain and fatigue. My long-term goal is to apply my full skill set – pharmacology, physiology, and behavior – to the understanding and treatment of chronic pain. The interest in the emotional component of migraine and chronic pain has also led me to become certified in hypnotherapy by the American Council of Hypnotist Examiners (ACHE), Neurolinguistic programming (NLP), biofeedback by the Biofeedback Certification International Alliance (BCIA), and Autogenic training by the British Autogenic Training Society (BAS). I hope to use my scientific and therapeutic skills with people living with a migraine disorder, and learn more about different aspects of this complex disease.

Presentation/Workshop: Trauma, Anxiety Disorders, and Migraine - Is there a connection?

Migraine is the second most common neurological disorder worldwide, affecting 15% of the world’s population. Migraine imposes a tremendous burden on individuals and their families owing to frequent headaches and associated symptoms and also impacts society at large due to direct and indirect societal costs. Despite novel pharmaceutical treatments for migraine, people living with a migraine disorder are rarely migraine-free, and most continue to experience debilitating headaches. Thus, it is of great importance to develop more effective migraine interventions. Similar to other chronic pain conditions, migraine is a multifactorial disorder with not only physiological aspects but also social and psychological contributions, which trigger or exacerbate migraine frequency and severity and worsen disability. Anxiety disorders (e.g., depression, general anxiety, and PTSD) have long been associated with exacerbation of migraine symptoms and disability, and prospective studies highlight their contribution to migraine. The negative emotional processes contributing to migraine in adults are due, in part, to increased interpersonal trauma and stress, including childhood adverse events such as physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. The presentation will focus on the pathophysiology of migraine and its clinical manifestation, the correlation between past trauma, anxiety disorders, and migraine, and the behavioral interventions currently used to effectively treat migraine.