Monday, April 23, 2012

Brain Freeze

Even though it isn't officially summer and even though some of you don't need to worry about this , I figured an article on the worst part of eating ice cream would be interesting reading.

127 comments:

Ryan said...

It’s interesting to me that brain freezes are caused by an increase in blood presser in the brain. That makes me wonder: could you use ice cream to cause a brain freeze & increase the blood presser in the brain so much that it does reach “dangerous levels”?

Ryan said...

Who comes up with this stuff anyway? I mean shore, people find new info but I don’t get how these newspapers can get this amount of info to have a new paper published every day?

Abc123come with me said...

I think that this article was very informing because it talked about how scientists just discovered what causes brain freeze. This is informing because in the article it says that the scientists didn't know what caused brain freeze until now. This is great because it is more information on the organ that we least know about; the brain!

Abc123comewithme said...

@ryan:
Newspapers have reporters and people in different departments who's jobs are to find things that are new and fresh each day. I know this because if you look closely at the video linked to the burger post on this website the people who are all trying to read the list of ingredients on the box are from different departments. This is how they come up with the latest news each day.

The1 said...

I wonder why cold consumings cause the blood vessels to increase and decrease in size. In the article it says that they saw increased blood flow to the brain through the anterior cerebral artery. it increased in size and then decreased again. This is why I am wondering what the temperature has to do with the fluctuation of size of the cerebral anterior artery.

Emma said...

I find this article very interesting it says that the reason you get brain freezes because the flow of the blood in the brain. Also one other thing that i found interesting was that people who frequently get migraines’ have a larger chance that they will get brain freezes when they eat ice cream. i found this article interesting in many ways and would love to read more about it.

KirillR98 said...

I think that this article was very interesting. I found out that a brain "freeze" isn't the brain freezing at all. If it was, we would die from the extra low temperatures. The brain is actually increasing the blood pressure, which causes us to feel such pain that the pain feels like coldness. So when people tell you to stick your thumb on the roof of your mouth, all it's doing is constricting the blood vessels so the pain goes away.

Emma said...

Ryan said....
"Brain freezes are caused by an increase in blood pressure in the brain." I agree with him because in the article that is what it stated. Also it said that brain freezes are like headaches.

KirillR98 said...

@The1
I agree with you. You said you were wondering what temperature had to do with the function of the size of the cerebral anterior artery. I think that the cold hitting the roof of your mouth triggers something that causes the blood pressure to increase in your cerebral anterior artery, causing that artery to swell. The body then recognizes the rising pressure and then acts to lower the pressure by constricting the artery.

WOOLEYWAM said...

This article was very interesting to learn about how people get migraines but pointless for me. This is because I am lactose intolerant and when I eat ice cream I get migraines. So I wouldn’t need to worry about this. However, I learned many things like when they tested it and the researchers monitored the blood flow through their brains using an ultrasound like process on the skull, they saw that the increase in flow and resulting increase in size in this artery brought on the pain associated with brain freeze. This was interesting to learn and I always wondered how people got brain freezes.

WOOLEYWAM said...

I agree with you @Abc123come with me, because I was also shocked how the scientists just found out about what causes brain freezes. You would think that they’ve known this for a while. I also thought it was interesting how they tested this to find out what caused it. Also, one thing I wonder is how they tested to find out that brain freeze is related to migraines.

sethblog said...

I thought this article was interesting because scientist actually wanted to learn more about how brain freeze is more common to happen to a person who gets migraines. I also thought it was very interesting because they actually tested it on people who don't normally get migraines

blah blah blah said...

Even though I did not now that brain-freezes are warnings that the brain is getting too cold, it does not surprise me. For example, the body has many other natural reactions it goes through when it is damaged or in danger, such as scabs, swellings, and bruises. Therefore, it does not surprise me that brain-freezes are caused by a reaction to overly cold temperatures.

Avgleek17 said...

I learned that a brain freeze isn't actually our brain freezing up and not being able to do anything, like think. But instead, our blood pressure rises in the brain so much where it seems like there is coldness in our heads. I though that was pretty cool. I never knew that a real freezing of the brain could kill you! I guess this sort of made me second guess myself before eating ice cream! I wouldn't want all that blood pressure to rise! But no matter what it's called, it's extremely uncomfortable.

AVgleek17 said...

@ Emma,
I also found this article very interesting. The fact that my idea of a brain freeze was all wrong really reeled me into the article. And all of the facts and stats that they gave us were really cool! I think you felt like the facts and new information you learned throughout the article made you interested in it as well! I feel like all the facts were more interesting this time, not boring me like others. Maybe it's because I like ice cream so much! But I think you feel the same way too.

blah blah blah said...

@KirillR98
I agree with you when you say that you found this article very interesting. For example, in your response you said that brain-freezes are in fact not "freezes" at all, or else your brain would stop working. I also found this article very interesting because it revealed the hard facts behind the urban myths about brain-freezes. Therefore, I agree with you when you say that you found this article very interesting.

blah blah blah said...

@KirillR98
I agree with you when you say that you found this article very interesting. For example, in your response you said that brain-freezes are in fact not "freezes" at all, or else your brain would stop working. I also found this article very interesting because it revealed the hard facts behind the urban myths about brain-freezes. Therefore, I agree with you when you say that you found this article very interesting.

Anonymous said...

I liked reading this because it fully explained how a brain freeze really happens because I always thought a brain freeze was when you ate ice cream and your throat felt really cold. In the article it first explains that,"- the debilitating, instantaneous pain in the temples after eating something frozen...," which first told me that the pain was more similar to a headache. Also in the article it says," They saw that increased blood flow to the brain through a blood vessel called the anterior cerebral artery, which is located in the middle of the brain behind the eyes. This increase in flow and resulting increase in size in this artery brought on the pain associated with brain freeze." Which told me how a brain freeze really happens. Therefore, in reading this article, I learned a few things about brain freezes, they are similar to a headache, the pain is felt on your temples, and that it was used to help study how headaches and migraines work.

Gabby P said...

I do not like ice cream so this article has know affect on me, but if I was my younger brother who loves ice cream then I would think about it more often. Just reading about how your brain pressure causes both migraines and brain freeze its sad. In the article it first explains that,"- the debilitating, instantaneous pain in the temples after eating something frozen...," which made me think that the pain was more similar to a headache.

Kayleigh said...

I think this article was so interesting. I LOVE icecream! But my bro loves it even more. Also i think the younger you are the easier it is to get a brain freeze. I went to friendly's for icecream and my bro was 3 yrs old.

Kayleigh said...

@Abc123come with me
I agree with you that this was very informing article. And I npw understand why my bro had a a brain freeze at the age 3

Kotonashi said...

I think that this article is very interesting. I think that is was interesting because I have always wondered how brain freezes happened. I have always been interested in science and this is something to remember.

The1 said...

@KirillR98
I agree with you that it is interesting how its not the temperature, but the pressure, that makes you have a brain freeze. This is because the term "Brain Freeze " implies that coldness in the brain that you have probably felt before, when really, it is the pressure that causes the feeling. these are my reasons why i think this article was interesting.

Man on the Moon said...

This article is very interesting because of how brain freeze really doesn't have that much to do with the cold. This because when you eat more something cold your body sends more blood to your brain and it actually expands which creates the actual headache. So there brain freeze isn't due to the cold.

Man on the Moon said...

KirillR98 I agree with you because I also found it interesting. I also found this interesting like you said in the way that it was actually just your blood vessels and that it is just increased flow and its getting bigger. So therefore brain freeze has nothing to do with anything really being cold just that it feels cold.

Simeong said...

I only had like 2 or 3 migrans in my whole life and I get lots of headaks my brother and my sister have lots of migrans in there life and they don't get brain freeze's as easily then I do. You can also stop brain freeze's by placing your thumb over your mouth. A brain freeze actually happens because the top of tour mouth gets really cold and it feels like your brain is freezing.

I don't know of a name said...

I rarely get brain freezes, so this article explained to me that a "brain freeze" is like a bad headache. In the article it explained, "When the artery constricts, reining in the response to this increased flow, the pain disappears. The dilation, then quick constriction, of this blood vessel may be a type of self-defense for the brain, the researchers suggested." A brain freeze is really just a bad headache.

Muffin Man 101 said...

I think that it is interesting that brain freeze can cause a rise in blood pressure to the brain. They are also linked with headaches and migraines. I also learned that the blood needs to be warm for your brain freeze to go away. When they did the test that the article talked about I wondered what would make people get a brain freeze and loose it at different times. I think that it might have to do with your blood pressure prior to to when you drink an maybe the size of you body would make a difference.

Language Arts Student said...

I think that the entire fact that "brain freezes" are caused by pressure and not the temperature is just really different and makes you think what else do you think is one thing but really is another. This is a good example of things that we are told but we don't know if its right or wrong so we just assume its right, I thought you get you r brain freeze from our taste buds and not the roof of your mouth but since the roof of our mouths are very sensitive it makes sense that, that is were the beginning of your brain freeze starts. This got me thinking of all the other things that were said to us as we were growing up but really was not the truth but are the twisted truths of a real fact or story. Their are things that we have been told that aren't really true. I think that this happens because people just don't remember the exact story or just want the story to sound better and become more appealing to others. I think that this is what is ruining our generation and the knowledge that they will retain and later on use. Therefore that is why I think that that pressure makes your brain freeze and not the temperature item that you're eat and also how lot stories and facts are twisted and changed by the time it gets to you.

Language Arts Student said...

@Man on the Moon
I agree with you how it is interesting how brain freezes are mostly started and in fact only started by the pressure a object or food creates on the top of your mouth rather than the temperature that the food is at.I thought this is interesting because basically every single time i got a brain freeze i thought it was because to the temperature of the ice cream for example. If you take your hand and press on the roof of your mouth really hard then slowly you will start getting your "brain freeze" but the thing is that if you try to do that little experiment it would take you longer to get your brain freeze compared to eating an ice cream and or a piece of ice. Therefore that is why i think it is very interesting that the pressure that a ice cream for example creates, makes that brain freeze rather than the temperature of that food.

mnm said...

I think this article and study probably will not help with headache and migrane cures because when one person gets a headache they are usaully not drinking something cold or eating icecream so the vessels wuld not be affected in the same way as brain freeze makes them expand.

mnm said...

This articledoes help to explain why people get brain freeze and how to prevent it. I think this because this article says that when you eat or drink a cold substance against the roof of your mouth then behind your temples blood vessels expand to try to warm you u causing pain and this is helpful for prevension cause you learn not to eat ice cream.

Ghost said...

I thought that the fact of ice cream giving you a migraine is actually quite interesting. It will defiantly make me think twice about eating ice cream again. Does this mean that "Migraine victims" shouldn't eat ice cream? That wouldn't be a stage I would want to be at, or anyone in the matter, unless they're lactose intolerance.

Ghost said...

@ MNM I agree with you that this article does explain why and how brain freeze happens. I just wish they told us how to prevent it an if we have it what to do to get rid of it.

Emerson18 said...

This article made me wonder about what happens when your throat gets really cold and it hurts when eating cold things. If brain freezes are formed from increase of blood flow in the brain and increased blood pressure in the brain, what happens to your throat when it gets really cold? Therefore, this made me wonder what happens during "throat freezes" because I learned a lot about brain freezes.

Emerson18 said...

@KirillR98 I agree with you that it is interesting that a brain freeze is not actually a freeze. If it was a freeze, we would die! The pain just feels like a freeze because of the increased blood pressure in your brain. Therefore, I found it interesting that a brain freeze is not actually a freeze because you would die if it was an actual freeze.

G-MAN said...

I think this experiment was pointless because people already know how brain freezes work. In seixth grade science with Mr. Mastronardi we had a day where we went to different stations to do activities, one was about brain freezes. What I learned was that when you eat something very cold blood is rushed to your brain through your carotid arteries. These arteries then bulge and push against the brain forming the pain associated with brain freeze. After a little bit they contract and your brain freeze goes away. This was two years ago when I learned it and I do not think that the article was new at all. So therefore, I beleive this experiment was pointless because we already know how brain freezes work.

G-MAN said...

@Ghost
I do not understand why this article would make you think twice about ice cream because you already know that brain freezes exist now you just know how they work. You have eaten ice cream before and knew that you can get brain freezes. All this article is telling you is that it is caused by an expanded artery pushing at the brain. Since you already knew of the existance of this pain, why would this article make you think twice? Brain freezes are rare occurances for me, to prevent them I would just make sure the ice cream doesn't hit the top of my mouth. You could also try eating ice cream slower. In conclusion, I do not understand why this article would make you think twice about eating ice cream because it only explained the inner workings of an event that you already knew existed. It is like knowing that Hawaii has volcanic erruptions but once you learn how they work in science you suddenly do not want to go to Hawaii, your former dream vacation.

Michelle R said...

Although this article was about brain freezes, I learned many interesting things about migraines. I learned that migraine sufferers are more likely to get a brain freeze then others. Also I learned that migraines are unpredictable which makes them hard to study. In addition, researchers aren't able to study the whole migraine because they can last for a long time. The researchers figured out that migraines are similar to brain freezes and decided to study them instead. These facts make this article informative about both migraines and brain freezes.

DiamondSwordsman said...

I learned that brain freezes are causesd by dilation of an artery behind the eyes. I also learned that this is very similar to a migrane and other headaches.

Anirbas said...

Brain freezes seem like a good thing for people. It warns us that we are eating too fast, and our brain is feeling like it needs to warm itself again. Hopefully, when we are eating ice cream and get a brain freeze, we will stop eating. Because they are like warnings for us, brain freezes are beneficial.

Anirbas said...

I agree with KirillR98, who said that brain freezes are interesting. He said that the brain didn't actually freeze, but it was a raise in blood pressure. Because it isn't truly freezing, it is interesting to learn how that name is actually false.

Evan F said...

I found it interesting that the fact that the entire perception of a brain freeze is wrong even the name. I think this because in the article it says that a brain freeze is caused by an increased blood flow to the brain through a blood vessel called the anterior cerebral artery, which is located in the middle of the brain behind the eyes. This increase in flow and resulting increase in size in this artery brought on the pain associated with brain freeze. I found this interesting because this means that a brain freeze is actually more of a brain expand and we just call it a brain freeze because you only get it when eating cold things. This is why I found this news interesting.

Evan F said...

I agree with what Anirbas said because if you think about, brain freezes do seem like a good thing for people because, like he/she said, it warns us that we are eating too fast, and our brain is feeling like it needs to warm itself again. This means that people will hopefully stop which is a good thing because then we prevent permanent damage to our brains. This is why I agree with what Anirbas said.

AnCh373 said...

@Language Arts Student
I agree with you because I had always thought that a brain freeze was when it head/throat felt cold, and not similar to a headache. In the article it states," this increase in flow and resulting increase in size in this artery brought on the pain associated with brain freeze." The artery that it talks about is," located in the middle of the brain behind the eyes," which shows how it really is hurting inside your brain, and not just feeling cold on the inside. Therefore, I learned that a brain freeze is similar to a headache and a migraine, and not the cold feeling in your throat when you eat your ice cream.

Unknown 7 said...

I thought that this article was interesting because I always thought that brain freezes happen because of the coldness in the ice-cream makes your temples feel cold. But I learned that the coldness makes your brain increase in blood pressure. This causes us to feel such pain that we feel coldness. I thought this was interesting because I never knew it was more complicated than the coldness of the ice-cream makes you feel cold.

Unknown 7 said...

@Anirbas
I agree with you because I also think that brain freezes are beneficial. I think this because brain freezes aren't painful. But when we get one, that means are brain is getting too cold from the ice-cream. This can be taken as a warning to stop eating the ice-cream. So brain freezes let you know when you are having too much ice-cream too fast. That's why I agree with you.

Lauren said...

After reading this I not only learned about how brain freezes are caused, but also about migraines. In this article it takes about how people who get migraine are more likely to get brain freezes because they share similar causes. A brain freeze is caused when blood flows through a blood vessel that is located behind the eye to the brain. Therefore I learned that people who are more pronged to migraines are more likely to get brain freezes while eating ice cream.

Lauren said...

@sethblog I agree with you because in the article it states that people who get migraines are more likely to get brain freezes. When they were testing they didn't use anyone who is pronged to migraines. This experiment wouldn't help the theory of migraines and brain freezes having similar causes.

Marissa S. said...

From this article I learned that if you are someone who usually gets migraines then you are more likely to get brain freezes. This is because brain freezes and migraines are very similar. Brain freezes are caused when blood goes through a blood vessel that is located behind the eye. Therefore if you usually get migraines then you are more likely to get brain freezes.

Marissa S. said...

@Lauren I agree with you the article was very informative. I learned how migraines start. They start when blood flows through a blood vessel that is located behind the eye to that connects to the brain. Also if you get migraines a lot then your more likely to get brain freezes.

Jessm said...

From this article I learned that it is hard for scientists to research migraines and headaches. This is because they are unexpected and to not last for consistent times, so it is hard to examine the entire process from start to finish. I found this interesting because I didn't realize how hard it would be to research and evaluate something as simple as a headache. This relates to the topic of the article, brain freezes, because like headaches and migraines, they last for short times and can be hard to study. Also migraine sufferers are likely to get brain freezes when eating cold foods because of the increased blood pressure in the head that causes them. Therefore I found this article very interesting.

Jessm said...

I agree with Lauren when you said that you learned about migraines and how people who get them are likely to get brain freezes because of the similar causes. Before reading this article I did not know that migraines happen in a similar way that brain freezes do. You get a brain freeze because of the increased blood pressure in your head, like a migraine. That also means people who get migraines often get brain freezes too.

Cav98 said...

I thought it was interesting how this article related brain freeze to a headache. This is interesting because although it it hard have a controlled test on headaches brain freezer are a little easier to test in a controlled environment. This means that scientist can find more answers about why headaches a cure and how to stop them. This connection could be the start of a hole new line of medicine that works specifically to stop the anterior from swelling.

Cav98 said...

@KirrilR98
I also noticed that a brain freeze isn't really a freeze at all. It really is a large artery swelling too the point were it causes. Also its not you brain the feel the pain it the area near the temple around the brain. Obviously the name Brain Freeze was made before they new much about what a brain freeze really was.

ShyWolf32 said...

I thought it was pretty interesting how brainfreezes are kinda like headaches. The other insteresting part is that a brain freeze is most likely warm blood being moved to the brain to keep it warm. Though in the article they weren't sure if this was the case or not but its still cool any way, brainfreeze or not.

ShyWolf32 said...

@Cav98 I agree with you that the connection to brain freezes and headaches could be used to cure them, but a headache and a brain freeze are not the same thing, so there could be a cure or there could not be a cure we will just have to wait and see.

Pandanut12 said...

When I read this I was a little confused about the migranes part and how they are caused because they have migrane-inducing drugs out there. The name says it all: migrane-inducing drugs start migranes. But in order to create something you have to know how it works, so how can the migrane drugs possibly exist? This is why I was confused.

Pandanut12 said...

@ShyWolf32
I disagree with you because headaches and brain freeze are pretty similar and may be ca used by the same thing. In the article it said that brain frezze is caused by an increased amount of bloodflow to the brain, and if headaches work in the same way they can come up with a drug that actually cures headaches. Even if they are not exactly the same, if they work on the same system they are at least in the same family. This proves that headaches and brain frezze are similar if not the same.

Matt W said...

I have never gotten a headache before, but I have certainly gotten brain freezes before, and they certainly are no fun. I never really thought about brain freezing as a science before, and I think it is amazing that the human race has come so far that we can use technology we created to find out why something that happening inside our body happens, when we can't see it.

MAtt W said...

@ShyWolf32 I agree with you that it is interesting that migraines and brain freezes are similar. I have never felt a headache or a migraine before so now i know what it feels like when people say they have headaches.

YouJustGotCerved said...

From this article, I learned that if you often get bad head aches or migranes, then you will most likely get brain freezes frequently. This is because both head injuries take place when more blood floods to your head than usual, therefore causing a strong pain.

YouJustGotCerved said...

@abc123comewithme
I agree that this article is very informative. This is because it had a lot of new information to me like how the scientists found out what causes brain freezes.

RyanT. said...

I learned that the brain freeze is caused when the blood pressure increases in the brain. I did not know this before I read this article. This article was interesting and informative. For these reasons I learned that brain freeze is coused by increasing blood pressure in the brain.

RyanT. said...

@Ryan

I think that you should check which blog you are on. This is because you wrote about newspapers when the blog is about brain freeze. You also spelled sure wrong. You spelled it "shore" that is correct grammar but not in this case. This is why you should check which blog you are writing on.

Michelle said...

@G-Man
I already knew how brain freezes were caused too! Last year I did the same experiment and learned that the a nerve or something sends a message to the brain saying "cold, cold". Then the brain sends warm blood through the carotid artery. The artery expands from the extra blood which causes a headache. Since we learned this last year, I wondered why this article said scientists didn't know the cause of brain freezes until now. If we learned it last year, then someone must've known what had caused it when they made that experiment.

!DANCE! said...

After reading this article about having a brain freeze I learned a lot of different facts. One thing that I learned is that people who usually get migraines get brain freezes easier. Another thing that I learned is what a brain freeze really is. It is when the blood pressure in the brain increases. Before reading this article I just thought that a brain freeze was that the temperature in your head is too low and to cold that teh brain or head is not used to it. I was obviously wrong about that! So, this article did teach me important information about brain freezes.

!DANCE! said...

@Marissa S.
I also found out that if the person usually has migraines or headaches then that would result to having a brain freeze more easily and more frequently. I did not find in the article that they are similar and that is the reason why but, I and not sure if you a correct or incorrect. That is what I also found and I am not sure if you are right about that one statement.

bieberlover10 said...

After reading this article, I was very interested in the truth about brain freezes. Everyone eats ice cream, and most people go "BRAIN FREEZE!" But most people don't know that the brain freeze comes from the amount of blood flow to the brain. That is one thing that I learned about brain freezes after reading the article.

bieberlover10 said...

@ Jessm....
I agree with you because when you said that you didn't realize how hard it was too research headaches and migraines, I thought the same thing because they are such a powerful thing, but so hard to know what they really are. That is why I agree with you.

JMM126 said...

I found this article interesting by their testings because they had 13 healthy people have ice water sipped through a straw into their mouth and then tested when the migraine came, and when it disappeared. As a result of the blood vessels in the artery in the middle of the brain behind the eyes, almost where the temple is located. Which the freeze my colden the vessels and freeze them up, and when the vessels ''defrost'' the migraine goes away. Therefore, this is why I found this article very interesting.

DR. Bubblesquash said...

These things are something that you don't really think about, and then when you do, you think to yourself 'How DOES that happen?' Or 'How DID that start?' I personally think that this is an interesting article because it takes that question to a whole different level and backs it up with science. This takes it to a whole different level because this is something that we usually don't look into; with the economy the government has to spend their money wisely.

DR. Bubblesquash said...

@Ryan, I agree with you. If blood levels increase with using brain freeze, then how much ice cream would it take to kill someone? I guess the question still remains, although I guess anything is possible.

NonStop said...

I really liked this article. I liked it because brain freezes happen to me a lot. I've always wanted know how it happened. I found out that it was all because of the raise of blood pressure. That is why I liked this article.

NonStop said...

@DR_Bubblesquash I disagree, I have always wanted to know about this subject. It has always confused me about how it happened. I would always ask why and try to find ways to stop the freezing.

Kate O. said...

I think that it is very interesting that they are associating migraines with brain freezes. I think this is interesting because I have always wondered what brain freezes are caused by, and now I know that it is caused by an increase in blood pressure in the brain. Researchers also that the artery constricts, reigning in the response to this increased flow the pain actually disappears. This is why I think this topic is very interesting.

Kate O. said...

@nonstopbubble. I agree with you because I also liked this article. Like you also said, I have also wondered what causes brain freezes, and it is actually a very interesting topic. I can now relate brain freezes, to migraines that many people in our everyday lives get. This is why I agree with you.

Jessica T. said...

I think that it is very interesting how a brain freeze is created. I thought that it was only because you froze a part of the brain that would cause the brain to freeze. I know this because the brain freeze is caused by an increase blood pressure. I think that this is important because you should know how brain freezes is caused so that you know what is causing you to feel that freezing feeling.

Jessica T. said...

I agree with Kate because I have also always wondered how the brain freezes when you drink something very cold. I think this is important because you may want t o know what it feels like or else you might not know what to think when you get older.

StephanieZ said...

I thinkt that this article is very interesting. It is telling us about one of the most important organs in our whole body, the brain. I always used to wonder why eating ice-cream causes such intense pain to your brain. Now, I know that it is because of the brain's self-defense system to keep the brain from freezing. As I was reading the article, I was wondering if maybe this discovery could lead to other headpain solutions or causes. That is why I thought the article was interesting.

StephanieZ said...

@AVgleek17

I agree with your comment. I too started to wonder if this could possibly kill you id your defense system didn't act quickly enough or if there was some other malfunction in your body. Ice-cream might not be that yummy anymore! That is why I agree with your comment.

edemace said...

I find it kinda cool that brain freezes are caused by an increase in blood pressure in the brain. I wonder if you could cause enough brain freeze to dangerous/ deadly levels and how severe the side effects could be if they were deadly levels.

edemace said...

@StephanieZ
I agree with you because it is telling us about one of the most important organs in our whole body, the brain. I also agree with you on wondering why you have brain freezes and after reading this my questions were answered.

ZAMZAM said...

This article was very informational because it, in detail, explained why people get brain freeze and that people who get migraines are more likely to get brain freeze because of increased blood flow to the brain through a blood vessel called the anterior cerebral artery, which is located in the middle of the brain behind the eyes. This increase in flow and resulting increase in size in this artery brought on the pain associated with brain freeze. This was all new information to me.

ZAMZAM said...

@The1 I also wonder why cold food causes the blood vessels to increase and decrease in size. In the article, it says that they saw increased blood flow to the brain through the anterior cerebral artery, and it increased in size and then decreased again. I am also wondering what the temperature has to do with the fluctuation of size of the cerebral anterior artery.

Peter P said...

I think that this article is very interesting because I now know that brain freezes are kind of related to headaches. Also, the increase in flow and resulting increase in size in this artery brought on the pain associated with brain freeze is a new and interesting fact to me. That's why I thought this article was very interesting.

Peter P said...

@edemace
I agree with you because your question would be good to ask someone. I think I would ask the same question. That's why I agree with you.

Ali M. said...

I think that this study is very interesting, but I rarely get brain freezes from eating ice cream. Maybe this is because when they were sipping the water very fast. I wonder if the speed in which the cold gets to the roof of your mouth affects the harshness of the brain freeze. This would be interesting to find out. This is why I thought this experience was interesting, because many other experiments could be tested from this.

Kibble said...

This article explains alot, even though its not too convincing. Although I do not get brain freezes, I know people that do. I had always thought that it was just a syaing for when something edable was really cold, I never knew that there was so much science behind it. But the article said that they had 13 healthy volunteers sip ice cold water. But its not just 'healthy' people that get brain freezes from ice cream, besides cold water is not the same as ice cream. Ice cream has sugar in it. Therefore its not too accurate. Which makes me believe that although this article has science in it, such as facts about the brain, its not the most reliable.

Kibble said...

@ ZAMZAM,
I agree that this article was very informational. After all how else could someone find out about the whole scientific reasoning behind Brain freezes!? Even though the article talks about how the brain reacts to cold temperatuters, it makes me wonder how reliable this experiment is. How much can they find out about brain freezes, from whatching the reactions of 13 healthy people take a sip of cold icy water?

Anonymous said...

I think it is amazing that something so simple as a brain freeze can help with something so indecipherable as a migraine or headache. This is because you would never think that these things could be connected. When it said, "Previous studies have found that migraine sufferers are actually more likely to get brain freeze than people who don't get migraines." I was very surprised. Overall, I found this piece to be very informative and an interesting read.

Anonymous said...

@G-MAN
I disagree with you that this entire experiment was pointless even if we already knew a lot about brain freezes. This is because it didn't teach us about just brain freezes, it also told us about headaches and gave us a bit of insight on them. That is why I disagree with you that this experiment was pointless.

disneydancer12 said...

i think that it is very interesting that blood flow causes brain freezes. i wonder that if the blood pressure got too high the person could die. i think that this could happen but it is very unlikely.

disneydancer12 said...

@kibble i agree. i do not think that this experiment is that accurate. icecream has sugar and that could effect the results. since water has nothing in it, the results could have been very different from the results with icecream.

Logan S. said...

I used to get brain freeze a lot but I have never gotten one in about 3 years. Brain freeze is when cold blood cells rush to your brain and they stay cold until warm blood sells rush to warm the cold cells. If the warm blood cells never got to the cold blood cells then either you would have brain freeze for ever or it would take a really long time for it to go away. Researchers say that you can push on the top of your mouth to make the brain freeze go away but when I have tried it, it never works. I am not sure if that only works on some people or if I just don't get brain freeze.

Logan S. said...

I agree with you Ryan because not only cold blood cells but the blood pressure also. I also wondered if you eat to much cold material or too much ice cream will your brain actually freeze from it being too cold.Maybe there are and maybe there aren't dangerous levels but do not try it at home because it would not be good if there are.

Ali M. said...

I agree that I learned a lot from this article. It was very interesting to learn about how the "brain freeze" stops. "When the artery constricts, reining in the response to this increased flow, the pain disappears. The dilation, then quick constriction, of this blood vessel amy be a type of self-defense for the brain, the researchers suggested." This means that the artery has to physically tighten so that the amount of blood flowing to your brain lessens. I thought that this was very interesting because I did not know that it was good for your arteries to tighten.

marktex5025 said...

I find this article interesting because I never knew that "brain freeze" could be so scientific. Whenever I get brain freezes, I just think that it's because of the coldness. I never in a million years would've guessed that there was a reason for them. Therefore, I thought the article was definitely informative, because I never expected brain freezes to be so much more than what I thought they were.

marktex5025 said...

@AnCh373
I also thought brain freezes happened because our throats got cold. I know that our heads, ears, eyes, and mouth, and nose all connect to each other. Because of this, I thought that because my throat was hurting due to coldness, that that was why our heads would hurt too. But obviously, it's not, so I find it interesting that brain freeze could be it's own, special topic, not necesarily caused by how our throats were feeling.

isabelle said...

I think this article was very interesting. I always get brain freezes and never know why. But one thing that I had learn to do when I get a brain freeze was to put my thumb on the roof of my mouth. Now it makes sense why this method stops my brain freeze. In the article it says they induced brain freezes by chilling the roof of the mouth. Now it makes sense that pushing my thumb against the roof of my mouth stopped my brain. My thumbs body heat would warm the roof of my mouth stopping the cause of the brain freeze. This article actually connected two puzzle pieces for me.

isabelle said...

@Ali M.
I agree with you that the scientific aspect of this article was very informing. Brain freezes are so common I actually never thought of the science behind it. I used to think that they just happened and there was no science behind it at all. Which I was wrong about it. I actually love discovering the science behind normal things. It shows that science and logic are behind everything. For example I was so amused when I found out the cause of hiccups. For some reason science behind little things we tribute to nature amazes me which is probably why I found this article very interesting.

Ryan35 said...

This article was interesting. I get brain freeze a lot and I always would put my tongue to the top of my mouth but I never knew why that happened. Know I know that it is because the warmth makes the blood vessels larger so there isn't a build up of pressure. Now I see why it could work.

Imagine11 said...

After reading this article, I found out that I actually did know how ice cream can give people headaches. The article stated that, "They saw that increased blood flow to the brain through a blood vessel called the anterior cerebral artery, which is located in the middle of the brain behind the eyes. This increase in flow and resulting increase in size in this artery brought on the pain associated with brain freeze." The article also stated that, "When the artery constricts, reining in the response to this increased flow, the pain disappears. The dilation, then quick constriction, of this blood vessel may be a type of self-defense for the brain, the researchers suggested." Therefore, since I actually had read about this before in science, I now re-learned about the human brain and learned some new facts that I didn't know before.

Ryan35 said...

@ShyWolf32
I agree with you that it was interesting to find out that brain freeze was similar to headaches. However, this makes me wonder how closely they are connected. Brain freeze happens your body is trying to keep your brain warm. Is that what your body is trying to accomplish with headaches and migraines? The connection seems distant.

Anonymous said...

I found this article interesting. I never knew there was science behind migraines and brain freezes. But as others said, this article didn't affect me that much because I get migraines a lot, and I get them especially when I eat ice cream, so I don't eat it a lot. But I still think it's interesting that there is actually science behind this that I never knew about.

Imagine11 said...

@Abc123come with me
I agree with your opinion because you said that the article was very informative. You said that, "This is informing because in the article it says that the scientists didn't know what caused brain freeze until now." You also said that, "This is great because it is more information on the organ that we least know about; the brain!" Therefore, since I also thought these things as I read the article, I agree with your blog comment.

Anonymous said...

@ DR. Bubblesquash, I disagree with you... You said, "These things are something that you don't really think about." Which is not necessarily true because every now and then I do always wonder what caused brain freezes. But then you say, 'I personally think that this is an interesting article because it takes that question to a whole different level." Which I agree about because this does akes it to a whole different level because this is something that we usually don't look into; with the economy the government has to spend their money wisely.

Ben H said...

This article has actually answered a question of mine, because it said that migraine sufferers experience brain freezes more than people who are not migraine sufferers. I do not suffer migraines, and I rarely experience brain freeze.

Ben H said...

@Ryan
I agree that it is interesting and I do wonder if it could reach dangerous levels, because there are a lot of other things that can be "dangerous"

d said...

In this article I learned that when you eat or drink something very cold, it causes a blood vessel behind your eyes to increase the blood flow and causes pressure on your brain giving it the sharp pain. I also learned that when it slows the blood flow it makes the pain stop, but I know from another website that one way to stop it faster is by warming up the roof of your mouth because it is the temperature that causes the blood to flow faster and warming the blood will make it go slower.

Devon S. said...

In this article I learned that when you eat or drink something very cold, it causes a blood vessel behind your eyes to increase the blood flow and causes pressure on your brain giving it the sharp pain. I also learned that when it slows the blood flow it makes the pain stop, but I know from another website that one way to stop it faster is by warming up the roof of your mouth because it is the temperature that causes the blood to flow faster and warming the blood will make it go slower.

May 10, 2012 9:24 PM

Devon S. said...

Anonymous, I agree with you that it's very interesting because I wouldn't think that brain freezes and migraines are connected. I wouldn't think of this because when people say they have migraines the usually have it for an entire day while a brain freeze only occurs for maybe a minute. I also found it surprising that the temperature of your mouth affects the way your blood flows!

Anonymous said...

I found this article very interesting because I have always wondered what made people get that odd head ache. brain freeze thing. After reading this article, despite my childhood belief of the ice-cream going up into my brain , I know understand that it is really a blood vessel swelling in your brain and causes a headache like thing. I really hate brain freeze. My love for ice-cream thought is too strong for me to expel this frozen treat from my life.

CandyS. said...

I found it very interesting that brain freezes occur because of the widening of blood vessels near the brain. When researchers tested 13 healthy individuals, they found that brain freezes occur because the blood flow increased in the blood vessel called the anterior cerebral artery, which is located in the middle of the brain behind the eyes. This increase in flow and resulting increase in size in this artery brought on the pain associated with brain freeze. Therefore, this article was interesting because it explained how brain freezes happen through the widening of blood vessels near the brain.

CandyS. said...

@isabelle
I agree with you that this article was very informative and answered some unsolved questions for me. I too wondered why pressing my thumb against the roof of my mouth stopped my brain freezes. By connecting the dots, I was able to figure out that if cooling the roof of my mouth could quickly expand my arteries, the opposite action would contract the arteries to their normal size and reverse the pain. Therefore, since I was able to figure out why brain freezes happen and why warming the roof of my mouth could make them go away, this article was very enlightening and answered some difficult questions I had.

whencupcakesattack said...

I personally found this article very interesting because a while back, I learned that the "brain freeze" didn't actually have anything to do with the brain. So when I found these lines, "They saw that increased blood flow to the brain through a blood vessel called the anterior cerebral artery, which is located in the middle of the brain behind the eyes. This increase in flow and resulting increase in size in this artery brought on the pain associated with brain freeze." I was quite interested. I never knew that the cold object actually increased the blood flow. I thought it caused the sensors in the roof of your mouth to get too sensitive. Overall, I found this article to be very interesting and it equipped me with some new information.

Anonymous said...

@ edemance

I disagree with you because you said that you think brain freeze is kind of cool. What? Imagine the amount of ice cream we could eat if the level of blood pressure didn't increase in our brian. The possibilities are endless. As far as I am concerned brain freeze ruined my life. This is why I disagree with you when you say that you think brain freeze if kind of cool because frankly I don't think so at all.

whencupcakesattack said...

@KirillR98
I agree with you. I found it very interesting that the fact that the brain really never "froze" when you experienced a brain freeze. It was very intriguing for me to see how brain freezes really work and how what you said about putting your thumb on the roof of your mouth relieved the blood pressure in your artery.

Hayley M said...

I found this article very interesting because I thought that brain were always caused by something cold. I thought that if you put something really cold in your mouth that was what caused a brain freeze but according to the article, it is caused by an increase in blood pressure in the brain. This has nothing to do with cold substances.

Hayley M said...

@ Unknown 7, Me too! I always thought that it was caused by eating too much of something cold, resulting in a brain freeze because that is what we were always told! This just makes you think what more thinks could you have been told that were lies.

Avacado said...

I already knew that brain freeze happens to certain people, and it doesn't happen to me. Instead of getting brain freeze, when I have something cold the back of my throat and asophogus get really cold and hurt for a minute or so from being so cold. I'm not sure if this would be a different type of freeze or what. I am not that concerned about brain freeze over the summer, because who cares? It only occurs for a few seconds and is worth it for the ice cream. Therefore, I really don't mind the brain freeze as it doesn't exactly affect me.

Avacado said...

@ The1,
I agree with you that it is strange that cold temperatures affect your brain blood vessels. Even stranger, I cannot believe that scientist have not gotten very much info on this topic until now. I really am not affected by brainfreeze, but enjoy ice cream. Instead of thinking about the science of all this, why not just enjoy the ice cream? Even so, I think that it is still important for scientist to study this topic and learn more about it.

JJHERRERA said...

I never knew about brain-freeze being similar too a migrane because i have only had a migraine once and i dont remember it. Even tho they feel similar beside the fact that your head cools up when you have brain-freeze they are vary different.

JJHERRERA said...

I was surprised to learn that a brain-freeze isn't caused by something cold it is caused by raising blood pressure in the brain. So now what i wounder is that if you you raise you blood pressure by not eating something cold will you still be able to get a brain-freeze or is caused by cold foods only?

Anonymous said...

I learn that when you get a brain freeze you veins in your head expands increasing the blood pressure. But I never knew that It could cause health problems.

Anonymous said...

I agree with JJHERRERA because when I get a brain freeze that it feels like migraine. But migraines are pretty bad and they hurt. But they don't last as long.

Anonymous said...

I was very surprised scientists didn’t already know this information. It is good to know that they found this information out. I think that this information might help solve other issues to.