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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What might alleviate the pain of a migraine in some patients, while this might also make the pain more severe for some patients?

2. Sacks says there is no way to predict every stage of a migraine as the migraine is, by definition, __________ in nature.

3. Some researchers actually believe that migraines make a person __________ to other diseases and to other conditions.

4. Those who have ________ migraines are often those who are prone to blushing in their everyday lives.

5. What did the man begin to use when he realized that sneezing might be able to relieve his migraine pain?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Sacks say there is a tendency to do with migraines which might cause problems in their study and experience?

2. What are some of the visual sensory hallucinations that migraine patients have seen in their experiences before migraines?

3. Why do many migraine sufferers tend to rub one side of their head when they are in the midst of a migraine?

4. What causes it to be difficult to determine the difference between migraines and epilepsy?

5. What can often be a secondary factor to the migraine pain, according to the author of this book?

6. What do some researchers feel is not a cause of migraines as adults, according to Sacks' research?

7. How does Sacks propose the genetic link of migraines be tested in order to assure that environmental conditions are not the cause?

8. What are the causes of serious losses of fluids during the experience of a migraine, according to Sacks?

9. What does Sacks say that all migraine patients have to fight during the experience of a migraine?

10. In the case study presented by Sacks, where does the forty-four year old man believe that he is during a hallucination?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Sometimes, people come up with less than conventional treatments for their pain, as described in one of the case histories of a man who used snuff to precipitate sneezing, which would make him feel better.

Part 1: Do you think that unconventional treatments are still helpful?

Part 2: Why do you think some people seek out less than conventional treatments?

Part 3: How do you feel about people who don't use medically approved treatments?

Essay Topic 2

Some migraine sufferers seem to have hallucinations before they have the migraine symptoms.

Part 1: What do the hallucinations tell a person about the cause of the migraine?

Part 2: How do you think you would react if you were to have hallucinations suddenly?

Part 3: Do you think it's easy to determine that you are having a hallucination?

Essay Topic 3

Sacks notes that some migraine sufferers have them early in life, but then the pain tapers off.

Part 1: Why do you think migraines might taper off as one gets older?

Part 2: How do you think a patient should look at the possibility that their migraines might go away someday?

Part 3: Do you think it's fair to tell a patient that they just need to wait out their migraine pain?

(see the answer keys)

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