Migraine and reward system-or is it aversive?

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Neurology
• Pain Research

Background:

• Migraine is a severe neurological disorder impacting individuals and society.
• The emotional aspect of pain significantly affects quality of life.
• Understanding pain's emotional drivers is crucial for effective migraine treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent literature on the role of reward and aversion brain structures in migraine pain.
• To explore the interplay between pain and reward circuitry in migraine genesis.
• To highlight the contribution of mesolimbic cortical reward pathways to migraine.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of recent scientific publications.
• Analysis of studies investigating brain structures in reward and aversion.
• Examination of neuroimaging and neurophysiological data related to pain and reward pathways.

Main Results:

• Overlapping brain regions in pain and reward circuitry contribute to negative affect and pain perception.
• Abnormalities in mesolimbic cortical reward pathways are linked to migraine pain.
• Evidence suggests structural and functional neuroplasticity in shared pain and reward brain regions.

Conclusions:

• Reward and aversion pathways significantly influence migraine pain.
• Targeting these pathways offers potential for novel migraine therapies.
• Neuroplasticity in overlapping brain regions is a critical factor in migraine pathophysiology.