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A migraine headache can cause intense throbbing or pulsing in one area of the head and is commonly accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and extreme sensitivity to light and sound.

Migraines currently affect about 20 percent of the female population andprevious studies have linked this disorder to an increased risk of stroke and structural brain lesions, but it has remained unclear whether migraines had other negative consequences such as dementia or a decline of cognitive skills such as memory and reasoning .

According to new research from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), migraines are not associated with cognitive decline.

This study is published online by the British Medical Journal (BMJ) on August 8, 2012.

In a large study, researchers examined data over 6,300 women from the Women's Health Study, which had a cohort of nearly 40,000 women, 45 years and older.

The participants provided information about migraine status at baseline and then participated in cognitive testing during follow-up. Participants were classified into four groups: no history of migraine, migraine with aura (transient neurology symptoms mostly of the visual field), migraine without aura, and past history of migraine. Cognitive testing was carried out in two year intervals up to three times.

Researchers said other studies on migraines and cognitive decline were small and unable to identify a link between the two.

"Our study was large enough to draw the conclusion that migraines, while painful, are not strongly linked to cognitive decline," Pamela Rist, lead author, said.  "Compared with women with no history of migraine, those who experienced migraine with or without aura did not have significantly different rates of cognitive decline.

Rist also said that the findings are important for both physicians and patients.

Patients with migraine and their treating doctors should be reassured that migraine may not have long term consequences on cognitive function," she said.

Researchers said more research needs to be done to understand the consequences of migraine on the brain and to establish strategies to influence the course of the disease in order to optimize treatment strategies.