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Updated: Jun 16, 2026
10:39
3D-Neuronavigation In Vivo Through a Patient's Brain During a Spontaneous Migraine Headache
Published on: June 2, 2014
Dopamine: what's new in migraine?
Annabelle R Charbit1, Simon Akerman, Peter J Goadsby
1Headache Group-Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94115, USA.
Current Opinion in Neurology
|February 19, 2010
Summary
Dopamine plays a complex role in migraine pathophysiology. While dopamine receptor antagonists are used for treatment, further research into dopaminergic mechanisms may reveal new therapeutic targets for migraine.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Pharmacology
- Genetics
Background:
- Dopamine's involvement in migraine pathophysiology is suggested but not fully understood.
- Recent findings offer new insights into dopaminergic mechanisms in migraine.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review and summarize the current understanding of dopamine's role in migraine.
- To explore potential dopaminergic therapeutic targets.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on dopamine and migraine.
- Analysis of studies investigating dopaminergic pathways and receptors in migraine models.
- Examination of genetic evidence linking dopamine-related genes to migraine.
Main Results:
- Dopamine and its agonists inhibit trigeminocervical complex neurons, suggesting a role in pain modulation.
- The hypothalamic A11 nucleus is identified as a key dopaminergic source.
- Genes like dopamine beta-hydroxylase and SLC6A3, and dopamine itself, are implicated in migraine, including menstrual migraine.
Conclusions:
- Dopamine contributes to migraine pathophysiology, with antagonists used in acute treatment.
- The role of dopamine in migraine is complex, involving multiple receptors and brain regions.
- Further characterization of dopaminergic mechanisms warrants reappraisal of therapeutic targets in migraine.
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