Donguibogam's concept of headache caused by depleted vitality can be explained in modern medicine through brain fatigue and disturbances in nervous system function. Our brain is an organ that consumes a tremendous amount of energy. While awake, the brain uses about 20% of the body's total energy. This energy is generated mainly via glucose and oxygen in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a process that takes place within cellular mitochondria. Chronic stress, sleep deprivation, irregular eating habits, and excessive information processing place a sustained load on the brain, which can reduce the energy production capacity of mitochondria. In other words, it reaches a state of brain energy depletion where the brain cannot receive sufficient energy.
This energy depletion leads to brain hypofunction. In particular, the balance of neurotransmitters that play crucial roles in pain regulation can be disrupted. For instance, neurotransmitters such as serotonin and norepinephrine regulate the brain's pain threshold and are closely related to mood, sleep, and cognitive function; in a state of brain fatigue, their secretion and action do not proceed smoothly, which can increase sensitivity to headaches. In the brains of migraine patients, alterations in specific gene expression or mitochondrial dysfunction are also observed.
Furthermore, chronic stress hyperactivates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, increasing the secretion of stress hormones such as cortisol. High levels of cortisol can act as a toxicity to neurons or trigger inflammatory reactions, negatively impacting brain function. This neuroinflammation is drawing attention as a key mechanism that promotes the onset and chronification of headaches.
Autonomic nervous system imbalance is another critical factor. Chronic fatigue and stress excessively activate sympathetic nerves and impair the function of parasympathetic nerves. Sustained hyperactivity of sympathetic nerves constricts blood vessels and raises blood pressure, which can make the blood flow heading to the brain unstable. Irregular variations in cerebral blood flow impede the supply of oxygen and nutrients to brain cells, acting as a factor that triggers or worsens headaches. Throbbing pain is deeply connected to repeated vasodilation and vasoconstriction irritating nerves.
In conclusion, modern medicine reveals that chronic headache is not simply an isolated issue of the head, but rather the result of an interaction among complex factors including abnormalities in brain energy metabolism, neurotransmitter imbalance, chronic inflammation, and autonomic nervous system disturbance. The depleted vitality described in Donguibogam can be regarded as an insightful concept that comprehensively explains such an overall functional hypofunction across the brain's biological systems. Our brain reflects the overall state of the body far more sensitively than we think, and chronic headache may be a powerful signal through which the brain tells us to rest and refill its energy.
