An instructor at NMU is working to study the effect of migraines with the hope of increasing what little is known about the effects of the sometimes debilitating headaches.
Health Physical Education and Recreation instructor Maggy Moore is helping the research to find a cure for these monstrous headaches. Moore, as a part of her Ph.D dissertation, is conducting a study on campus to understand how one’s ability to function is affected within 48 hours of a migraine and is looking for students to participate.
A migraine is a severe headache that usually affects one side of the head and is associated with vision impairment or nausea. Moore’s inquiries could help the realm of migraine research that does not include much information about the time right after a migraine takes place.
“It’s just going to provide more information. It’ll be a piece of the puzzle,” Moore said.
The research is being done using ImPACT tests. ImPACT stands for “immediate post-concussion assessment and cognitive testing” and is a computer program that tests the function in four lobes of the brain. This program is generally used with people immediately after they have expershe will test the person within 24 hours, 48 hours and again after a week. Conducting the survey so soon after the migraine begins provides a detailed idea of how a person is affected. Moore sometimes goes out of her way to meet her volunteers wherever it is convenient for them.
Jodi Tervo, a senior sports science major who is volunteering for Moore’s research said, “She actually brought her computer to my place of employment so that I could take her exam. She understands the challenges of college students and especially those who are suffering from a migraine,”
An example of the ImPACT tests is looking at three pictures, having the pictures taken away while counting down from 25 and then having to find what has changed in a new set of pictures. This shows how a person’s memory is affected during a migraine.
To create a control group for the experiment, Moore will also test people who do not experience migraines.
There is no definite remedy for migraines, and many medicines that do exist have bad side effects.
“Maggy is hopefully opening up doors for further research in this area, and as we all know, this is how medicine advances,” Tervo said.
While looking at how migraines affect a person’s reaction time, Moore will also consider how exercise affects the intensity of a person’s migraine and how a person who does not exercise responds to the ImPACT testing compared to someone who regularly exercises.
“I’m also hoping to find that physical activity is positively affecting people with migraines by decreasing the intensity,” Moore said.
Moore is looking both for research subjects who experience migraines and for those who do not. The students with no migraines will act as controls for the research. Right now, she is specifically looking for people who experience migraines and those who do not but also do not exercise regularly.
Moore says that people who have migraines are interested in participating to further what is known about migraines so that more can be done, but she is offering an incentive to all who participate. All participants will receive a candy bar, one in six will win a Target gift card and an iPod shuffle will also be raffeled off to one participant.
“Everyone is a winner with Maggy,” Tervo concluded.
To participate, contact Maggy Moore at 227-2228 or e-mail [email protected]
ienced a concussion; however, Moore intends to assess the same characteristics of reaction time after a migraine.
The research will be based on a person’s ability to do basic tasks while affected by the headache. The tests look at a person’s ability to focus and maintain concentration, remember specific words or pictures after a certain amount of time, and see how verbal memory functions after a migraine.
Moore will test the subjects before a migraine for baseline data. When a migraine begins,
