AAN 2026 Conference Preview for Headache and Migraine Sessions

Published: March 18, 2026

The 2026 American Academy of Neurology’s (AAN) annual meeting will soon kick off in Chicago, Illinois. From April 18 through April 22, the 2026 AAN Annual Meeting brings the global neurology community together for five days of education, innovation, and networking opportunities. Each day is filled with sessions on robust topics related to neurology, hosted by world leaders presenting the latest evidence-based data.

With so many options, we have a curated selection of sessions focusing on headache and migraine topics for your convenience. The following dates and times are accurate as of March 9, 2026. Consult the AAN 2026 Annual Meeting official website for the most up-to-date information on these and all the other sessions scheduled for the meeting.

Saturday, April 18

Pediatric Headache

7:00 AM – 9:00 AM
Description: This session is divided into multiple subsessions: Migraine in Children and Adolescents: Symptoms and Treatment; The Gut-Brain Axis in Pediatric Migraine; and Autonomic Dysfunction and Headache Disorders in Youth.

Diagnosis and Current Management of Cluster Headache and Other Primary Headache Disorders

2:30 PM – 4:30 PM
Description: Attendees to this session will learn to diagnose, manage, and discuss cluster headache and other primary headache disorders. Included will be sessions on trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias and other primary headaches.

Case Studies: Challenging Headache Cases

5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Description: This session includes portions on approaching patients with status migrainosus, challenging co-morbidities, and secondary headaches.

Sunday, April 19

New Therapies for Migraine and Other Headache Disorders

7:00 AM – 9:00 AM
Description: Attendees will be able to apply current evidence to the diagnosis and management of migraine and other primary and secondary headache disorders, and to describe evolving insights in the field, including those pertinent to special populations.

Headache in the Emergency Department

1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Description: This session will focus on three topics: Headache in children in the emergency department; Headache in adults in the emergency department; Concussion with headache in the emergency department.

Skills Workshop: Interventional Management: Botulinum Toxin, Nerve Blocks, and Trigger Point Injections

1:00 PM – 5:30 PM
Description: This workshop features talks on nerve block and trigger point injections for management of headache disorders, the use of neuromodulation in treatment of headache disorders, and more.

Monday, April 20

No-No to Headaches: Neuro-Ophthalmology and Neuro-otology in Headache Disorders

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Description: In this session, attendees will learn about conditions seen by neuro-opthalmologists and neuro-otologists to understand their frequent overlap with common headache conditions, with a focus on practical diagnostic and treatment strategies.

Neurological Disease in Women: A Multi-Specialty Perspective

3:15 PM – 4:15 PM
Description: This session is a collaboration between the Women Issues in Neurology, Headache and Facial Pain, Movement Disorders, and Sleep Medicine sections.

Alice in Wonderland Syndrome and Other Unusual Neurologic Disorders

3:30 PM – 4:15 PM
Description: This session will focus on Alice in Wonderland Syndrome and other uncommon episodic headache and neurological disorders.

Tuesday, April 21

Low and High Pressure Headache: Clinical Presentation and Approach to Evaluation and Management

7:00 AM – 9:00 AM
Description: This session will focus on intracranial hypertension and spinal CSF leaks through case-based presentations on each topic.

Neuroscience in the Clinic: Waves of Change in Neurology: Rethinking Cortical Spreading Depolarization (CSD)

1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Description: This session focuses on cortical spreading depolarization (CSD), which is a key mechanism in neuroscience related to migraine, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and more. In this session leading scientists will discuss the pathophysiology of CSD and emerging clinical implications.

Hot Topics in Headache Medicine

1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Description: This session is a series of preselected abstracts, including: Brain Functional Connectivity Correlates of Pain Catastrophizing in Post-Traumatic Headache, Calcitonin Gene-related Peptide Induces Headache Attacks in People with Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension, and more.

Comprehensive Migraine Update: Advanced in Acute, Preventive, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapies

3:30 PM – 5:30 PM
Description: This session focuses on teaching attendees on taking good headache history, listing contraindications to migraine acute therapies, discussing key considerations to new migraine therapies, and describing non-pharmacologic options for migraine.

Wednesday, April 22

Headache Clinical Trials

11:15 AM – 12:15 PM
Description: This sessions will focus on discussing some of the latest clinical trials on headache, including: TRPM 8 Antagonism with Elismetrep: A Novel Approach for Treating Migraine, Quantifying Migraine’s Cognitive Toll: Real-World Evidence from the MIND Cohort, and Safety and Tolerability of Anti-PACAP Monoclonal Antibody Lu Ag09222 when Co-Administered with a Gepant in Participants with Migraine.

Society Spotlight: American Headache Society

1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Description: This session features a selection of topics, including Glymphatics and Sleep/Post Traumatic Headache, The Hypothalamus: Conductor of the Migraine Prodrome, Is Migraine a Risk Factor for Dementia?, and more.