Affiliations: Institut für Medizinische Psychologie und
Medizinische Soziologie der Universität Kiel | Zentrum für Klinische Psychologie und
Rehabilitation der Unversität Bremen | Zentrum für Kinder- und Jugendmedizin der
Universität Frankfurt | Klinik für Neuropädiatrie der Universität Kiel
Note: [] Korrespondenzadresse: Dr. Gabriele Gerber-von Müller,
Institut für Medizinische Psychologie und Medizinische Soziologie,
Universitätsklinikum Schleswig Holstein Campus, Kiel, Diesterwegstrasse
10-12, Kiel. Email: [email protected]
Abstract: Pediatric headaches, namely migraine and tension type headache,
belong to the most common health problems in children and adolescents. The
behavioural medicine approach to chronic headache in childhood and adolescence
is based on the etiopathogenesis and empirical research. The biobehavioral
perspective has the concept of migraine as an information processing deficit
disorder, characterized by a central hypersensitivity (informationprocessing
dysfunction) and dishabituation. We assume that hereditary and psychosocial
(parental education) mechanisms both play an important role in migraine.
Behavioural medicine interventions are highly effective and encompass
information-processing-training, stress-management training, relaxation
training, pain-coping techniques and biofeedback treatment.
Keywords: Migraine, headaches, behavioural medicine, disturbed cortical information processing
