Author(s): Min Su and Shengyuan Yu
Migraine is a common disabling brain disorder characterized by episodic moderate or severe headache attacks and accompanied by autonomic nervous responses and also other disturbances. It is well established that activation of the trigeminovascular system and neurogenic inflammation play important roles in the pathogenesis of the headache attacks. And our previous work has systematically observed the Fos expression in the brain of conscious rats following electrical stimulation of dura mater surrounding the superior sagittal sinus, and activated neurons were found in the upper cervical spinal cord (UCSC), spinal trigeminal nucleus caudal part (TNC), raphe magnus nucleus (RMg, major part of rostral ventromedial medulla), periaqueductal gray (PAG), ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (VHM) and mediodorsal thalamus nucleus (MD). In this paper, the involvement of these brain regions in the pathophysiological process of migraine was discussed.
