Nouvelles normalités Nouvelles pathologies Nouvelles ... - Psynem

6° 6éme Congresso Congrès Européen Europeo de di Psicopatologia Psychopathologie dell’Infanzia de l’Enfance e et dell’Adolescenza
de l’Adolescence
Nuove Nouvelles normalità normalités Nuove Nouvelles patologie pathologies Nuove pratiche Nouvelles pratiques
SATURDAY, May 7 WORKSHOPS
Workshop 29 Psiche e soma
CHILD MIGRAINE AS PSYCHOSOMATIC DISORDER
Umberto Balottin Clinica di Neuropsichiatria infantile IRCCS Mondino Pavia, Università di Pavia (Pavia - IT)
Migraine is a neurological disorder characterized
by unilateral head pain, nausea and/or vomiting,
and altered sensory perception (particularly
phono- and/or photophobia). It is a common
and disabling condition in children and adolescents,
just as it is in adults; its origins, pathophysiology
and long-term course are still not fully
understood.
Biological factors are currently held to be crucial
in the aetiopathogenesis of primary headaches,
such as migraine. In children and adolescents,
we hypothesize that for migraine to
develop, life events and their psychological processing
are fundamental and can act in two dif-
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ferent ways: either as a predisposing factor,
inducing a chronic state of anxiety or depression
(even subclinical), or as a trigger factor,
activating a cascade of psychological events
which, in turn, activate the biological mechanisms
that produce the migraine attack.
According to our hypothesis, psychological
processing of life events (i.e. how the child perceives
and mentally processes them) is the main
factor in migraine aetiopathogenesis. This
hypothesis has important implications in terms
of diagnostic and therapeutic choices for children
and adolescents with migraine.