Current pain and headache reports
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A family history of migraine is very frequently noted when evaluating a child for recurrent headaches. This implies an inherited or genetic basis as a component to the underlying pathophysiology. A variety of techniques have begun to elucidate this contribution, including historical observation, population-based studies including family and twin studies, gene polymorphism association studies, and specific gene identification for isolated migraine subtypes. This line of investigation should progress in the future to a better understanding of migraine and clarification of the diagnostic subtypes for a genotype-phenotype association.