Why do cold drinks, ice cream, etc. cause 'brain freeze'?

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Brain & Nervous system

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	Why do cold drinks, ice cream, etc. cause 'brain freeze'? By gone Asked Mar 10 2007 6:54AM	4 Pts Rate Question

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by worshiptool on Mar 10, 2007 at 7:13 am Permalink

When something cold touches the roof of your mouth on a hot day, it triggers a cold headache. The cause is a dilation of blood vessels in the head. The dilation may be caused by a nerve center located above the roof of your mouth -- when this nerve center gets cold, it seems to over-react and tries to heat your brain.

for more on the subject:
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/314/7091/1364

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