by Edward L. Ayers. In the twelve years after the Civil Warâthe era of Reconstructionâthere were massive changes in American culture, economy, and politics. These were the years of the âOld West,â of cowboys, Indians, and buffalo hunts, of cattle drives, railroads, and ranches.
Oh no, not again! Another frozen treat, another brain freeze. âIce cream headachesâ happen when something cold touches nerves in the roof of the mouth, triggering blood vessels in the front of your head to swell. This rapid swelling causes the familiar, jabbing pain of a brain freeze.
Brain freeze is practically a rite of summer. It happens when you eat ice cream or gulp something ice cold too quickly. The scientific term is sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia, but that's a mouthful. Brain freeze is your body's way of putting on the brakes, telling you to slow down and take it easy. Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center neuroscientist Dwayne Godwin, Ph.D., explains how it works.