London — January 28, 2026 12:00:00 GMT — The frustrating link between migraine triggers and actual biological events in the brain may not be as straightforward as it seems. Instead of external factors *causing* a migraine, our brains might be primed to notice those triggers during the very earliest stages of an attack.
Migraine sufferers often report sensitivity to light, smells, or sounds before the onset of pain, but new research suggests these aren’t necessarily the cause—they’re a symptom of the migraine process already beginning.
- Migraines have a strong genetic component, with inherited genes potentially playing a role in 30-60% of cases.
- Brain scans reveal increased activity in the visual cortex *before* a migraine begins in people sensitive to light.
- The idea that external triggers directly *cause* migraines is being challenged by new neurological research.
- Scientists are working to pinpoint the specific genes involved, but the process is proving more complex than initially anticipated.
“Well, that’s a classic example, and the causal attribution is probably wrong,” says Peter Goadsby, professor of neurology at King’s College London, in the UK. “What if, instead, during the premonitory phase of an attack, you’re sensitive to scent, you notice smells that you wouldn’t normally.”
Goadsby analyzed brain scans of migraine patients who report light as a trigger, comparing them to those who don’t. He found that only those who blame light for their pain showed overactivity in the part of the brain responsible for vision right before a migraine. This suggests they were biologically more sensitive to light during that initial phase. “Unquestionably, something is going on biologically,” Goadsby states.
The Genetic Origin of Migraine
Pinpointing that “something” has been a decades-long pursuit. Studies on twins demonstrate a significant genetic component to migraines. If your parents or grandparents experienced them, you’re statistically more likely to inherit the condition.
Dale Nyholt, a geneticist at Queensland University of Technology in Australia, explains that inherited genes appear to contribute to an estimated 30-60% of migraine cases, with lifestyle, environment, and behavior making up the remainder. Nyholt is currently screening thousands of individuals to identify the specific genes involved, but acknowledges the research is “more complex than what we were ideally hoping for.”
In 2022, Nyholt analyzed the genes of 100,000 migraine patients, comparing them to those of 770,000 people without the condition. The results, published in Nature, continue to refine our understanding of the genetic landscape of migraine.
A: While a complete prevention isn’t yet possible, identifying specific genes could lead to targeted therapies and a better understanding of individual risk factors, potentially allowing for more effective preventative strategies.
The evolving understanding of migraine suggests that triggers aren’t necessarily the enemy, but rather signals that an attack is already underway. This shift in perspective could pave the way for more effective treatments focused on interrupting the migraine process at its earliest stages.
