Problem: A 32-year-old woman reports episodic, unilateral, throbbing headaches lasting 6-8 hours, often associated with nausea, photophobia, and an aura preceding the pain. What is the primary pathophysiological mechanism of her condition? Need Assignment Help? Abnormal activation of cranial autonomic pathways Cortical spreading depolarization and trigeminovascular activation Diffuse hyperexcitability of cerebral neurons Compression of cranial nerves due to increased intracranial