Cortical spreading depression is linked to pain transmission by the trigeminal nerve.

This article focuses on cortical spreading depression. In 1944, neurophysiologist A. Leao postulated that the visual aura of migraine headaches is related to cortical spreading depression (CSD), based on the observation that the aura drifts across the visual field in accordance with the propagation of CSD. Recent studies using new technologies demonstrate CSD within the occipital lobe of migraine patients who experienced visual aura prior to headache development.