Migraine pathogenesis and the role of CGRP – thalamus

The thalamus is a structure in the brain that relays sensory information (including pain) from the body to the cerebral cortex.^{[Purves et al., 2018]} The thalamus is highly complex but organised, such that the incoming signals remain segregated, based on the type of somatosensory information that is conveyed.^{[Purves et al., 2018]}

Experiments have shown that the cortical trajectories of trigeminovascular neurons are defined by the thalamic nucleus of origin, suggesting separate roles for these pathways in discriminating elements of migraine such as location and intensity of pain, and in symptoms such as phonophobia and photophobia.^{[Noseda & Burstein, 2013]}

References:
Noseda R, Burstein R. Migraine pathophysiology: anatomy of the trigeminovascular pathway and associated neurological symptoms, CSD, sensitization and modulation of pain. Pain 2013; 154 (Suppl 1).

Purves D, Augustine GJ, Fitzpatrick D, et al. Neuroscience, 6^th edition. New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 2018.

Other references used on slide:
Russo AF. Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP): a new target for migraine. Annu Rev Pharmacol Toxicol 2015; 55: 533–552.

Younis S, Hougaard A, Noseda R, Ashina M. Current understanding of thalamic structure and function in migraine. Cephalalgia 2019; 39 (13): 1675–1682.