Research Themes

Overview of 5 research themes

These themes are backed by decades of peer-reviewed work and clinical insight, with over 80 reasearch articles and textbook chapters on migraine, see full list of publications.

A Mian, S Donoghue, Prieto, MA Dahlem, M Vives-Mestres, G Boucher, The role of digital platforms and smartphone apps, In: Migraine Pain Management, SB Shrewsbury (ed), Elsevier (2025)

Here we show that modern digital platforms and smartphone apps can empower people with migraine to better manage their condition and monitor their symptoms.

MA Dahlem, Mathematical modeling of human cortical spreading depression, In: Neurobiological Basis of Migraine, T Dalkara and MA Moskowitz (eds), 285–305 (2017)

Here we explain how cortical spreading depression — a wave of altered brain activity — is at the core of migraine aura, helping make sense of visual and sensory symptoms.

MA Dahlem, J Kurths, MD Ferrari, K Aihara, M Scheffer, A May, Understanding migraine using dynamic network biomarkers, Cephalalgia 35, 627–630 (2015)

Here we discuss how migraine can be understood as a dynamic brain network disorder, shifting how we view attacks not as isolated events but as part of a fluctuating system.

K Podoll, D Robinson, Oliver Sacks (Foreword) Migraine art: the migraine experience from within, North Atlantic Books; Illustrated edition (2009)

Here we illustrate how the personal experience of migraine — especially aura — has inspired artistic expression, offering a window into the emotional and sensory world of those affected.

K Podoll, H Ebel, D Robinson, U Nicola, Obligatory and facultative symptoms of the Alice in Wonderland syndrome, Minerva Medica (2002)

Here we explore rare aura symptoms such as distortions in size, time, and body perception, known as Alice in Wonderland syndrome, and their connection to migraine.