2.What is a Migraine Brain?

(Video opens with a medium shot of Pratyay, connecting directly to the last video's cliffhanger.)

Hook:

In the last video, I asked if you were sure you even have migraines. Today, we’re diving into what it means to have a “Migraine Brain.” Spoiler alert: It's not a defect, it was once a powerful, now underutilised advantage.

Hey, I'm Pratyay, and welcome to Pratyay's Book Bias.

The Analogy (The "What"):

The book Fighting the Migraine Epidemic proposes a mind-blowing idea: the migraine brain is the original, default human brain. It’s an ancient hunter’s brain, packed with hyper-sensitive sensory organs that were a massive evolutionary advantage for survival.

Think of this ancient hardware like a Formula 1 engine. It’s built for peak performance—incredibly powerful, and ridiculously sensitive to everything from the fuel you put in it to the weather outside. The book explains that this brain literally has a different anatomy and operates at a higher voltage than a standard one.

The Symptoms (The "How"):

And if you have this brain, you know its warning signs are so much more than a simple headache. The book describes a migraine as a full-body neurological event with distinct phases, where the pain is often the last thing to show up.

Let's break down what an attack can really look like:

First, there's the Neurological Storm. This is where things can get terrifying…

(Visual Suggestion: Rapid-fire text overlays for each symptom as Pratyay lists them.)

  • Temporary paralysis on one side of your body.

  • A droopy face or slurred speech, like a stroke.

  • Vertigo so severe you fall over like a log.

  • Or seeing an aura, which is literally an electrical current you are "seeing" as it flows across your brain.

Then, there's Sensory Overload, as your hyper-sensitive system goes into overdrive…

  • You can't tolerate lights, sounds, or smells.

  • You might get restless leg syndrome.

  • Or even temporarily lose your hearing or sight.

Finally, it’s a System-Wide Crash that affects your whole body…

  • You can get severe nausea and cyclical (SIK-lik-uhl) vomiting.

  • Irritable Bowel Syndrome, or IBS.

  • Debilitating brain fog and extreme fatigue.

  • And even intense mood swings, like being overly happy or argumentative, the day before an attack.

The "Why":

So why does this incredible, high-performance brain cause so much suffering? The book boils it down to one fundamental reality: an energy crisis. This F1 engine of a brain uses way more energy than a standard one to stay on high alert. When it gets overstimulated and runs low on fuel, or when its delicate electrolyte balance is thrown off, the entire system crashes.

This isn't a defect; it's by design. A specific set of genetic variations causes this brain type, and the fact that nearly 15% of the world's population has it means it wasn't a mistake—natural selection wouldn't favor a trait that constantly incapacitates so many people. It was an advantage. Today, we have an over-powered brain with an under-optimised lifestyle and fueling method.

(Look to the camera with a hopeful expression.)

Closing:

The migraine brain isn't broken, it's just mismatched with our modern world. It's waiting for the right fuel to run properly.

So now that we know what a migraine brain is, how do you know for sure if you have one? In the next video, we'll break down the different types of headaches and go through a simple questionnaire from the book to help you find out what you really have?