hharris at cs.uiuc.edu (Harlan Harris) wrote:
>In article <0n5pst200YUg01h2c0 at andrew.cmu.edu>,
>Alexander R Terrill <terrill+ at andrew.cmu.edu> wrote:
>>>Can anyone tell me what mechanism causes the rapid, brief headache pain
>>>when a cold substance is ingested quickly?
>>>>It is not the brain that is sensing the pain...
>>It has something to do with paranasal air sinuses.
>>Hm. What I remember hearing is that the cold chills the carotid arteries,
>and that the cold blood shocks the lining of the brain, which is what
>hurts. Similar location as migraines, but different type of pain, and of
>course much shorter.
>>So far we've got, what, 5 responses and 5 theories?
>> -Harlan
>The last one is the correct one. The ice-cream headache occurs aftter swallowing
the cold substance. The blood, ascending to the brain through the carotids close
to the pharyngeal wall, is suddenly cooled. This temperature change elicits
vascular reactions.
Jan Nauta
Groningen, the Netherlands
