Aug 4, 2026 · 56 min · 15 segments
Dear Diary, in episode 99, We sit down with neurologist and epileptologist Dr. Jessica Lowe (Dr. Brain Barbie) to unpack one of the most misunderstood conditions in healthcare. What started as a…
Jessica LoGuestCo-HostHost
Alice KoshevatskiyHost
Melanie ZiaziarisHostCo-HostHost
Why is it undertreated? Every human has experienced a headache at some point in their life.
Mm-hmm.
Inherently or subconsciously, when we hear someone say they have a headache, we assume it was like our headache, right? For the average person, that's a tension headache.
And so I think that, um, when people hear the word migraine, they think, "Oh, it's just a really bad headache." They think of their tension headache ramped up, okay?
Mm-hmm.
There is actually a wave spreading over the brain and, you know, um, it's cortical spreading depression.
You have the pain pathways in the entire head and face being activated and sensitized.
It is a actual neurologic phenomenon that is well-described, and for us, pretty well understood.
Mm-hmm
but it is completely separate from a tension headache, which is literally muscle tension kind of cramping, you know, causing pulling essentially, right?
Mm-hmm.
Why is it undertreated? Every human has experienced a headache at some point in their life.
Mm-hmm.
Inherently or subconsciously, when we hear someone say they have a headache, we assume it was like our headache, right? For the average person, that's a tension headache.
And so I think that, um, when people hear the word migraine, they think, "Oh, it's just a really bad headache." They think of their tension headache ramped up, okay?
Mm-hmm.
There is actually a wave spreading over the brain and, you know, um, it's cortical spreading depression.
You have the pain pathways in the entire head and face being activated and sensitized.
It is a actual neurologic phenomenon that is well-described, and for us, pretty well understood.
Mm-hmm
but it is completely separate from a tension headache, which is literally muscle tension kind of cramping, you know, causing pulling essentially, right?
Mm-hmm.
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