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Chronic Post-Ischemia Pain Model for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type-I in Rats
Published on: January 21, 2020
Thalamic sensitization transforms localized pain into widespread allodynia
Rami Burstein1, Moshe Jakubowski, Esther Garcia-Nicas
1Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA. rburstei@bidmc.harvard.edu
Annals of Neurology
|June 29, 2010
Summary
Migraine attacks can cause widespread pain sensitivity due to sensitized thalamic neurons. These neurons process signals from both the head and body, explaining the spread of allodynia and hyperalgesia.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Pain Research
- Migraine Pathophysiology
Background:
- Focal pain, such as migraine headache, can escalate to generalized hypersensitivity to touch (allodynia) and pain (hyperalgesia).
- The mechanisms underlying the transformation of localized headache pain into widespread hypersensitivity remain incompletely understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of thalamic neuronal sensitization in the development of whole-body allodynia and hyperalgesia during migraine attacks.
- To determine if thalamic neurons processing converging sensory input from the cranial meninges and extracephalic skin are involved in migraine-associated hypersensitivity.
Main Methods:
- Single unit recordings of thalamic trigeminovascular neurons in rats exposed to chemical stimulation of the cranial dura.
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to analyze blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) signals in migraine patients experiencing extracephalic allodynia.
Main Results:
- Rat thalamic neurons sensitized by dural stimulation showed prolonged hyperexcitability to innocuous and noxious stimuli on the paws.
- In migraine patients, fMRI revealed heightened BOLD responses in the posterior thalamus to extracephalic skin stimuli during migraine attacks compared to pain-free states.
Conclusions:
- Sensitized thalamic neurons that integrate nociceptive input from the meninges and sensory input from the body surface are proposed as the mechanism for spreading allodynia and hyperalgesia in migraine.
- This thalamic sensitization explains the evolution of focal headache into widespread hypersensitivity during a migraine attack.
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