title: Vascular head pain selectively activates ventrolateral periaqueductal gray in the cat.
abstract: Electrical stimulation of the superior sagittal sinus is an experimental model of migraine which activates neurons within the upper cervical spinal cord. The ventrolateral periaqueductal gray has been proposed as an integrative centre for the autonomic and behavioural responses to deep pain and also receives significant inputs from the upper cervical spinal cord. The noxious-stimulation evoked expression of the immediate-early gene c-fos, was used to determine if sagittal sinus stimulation activates neurons of the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray. The superior sagittal sinus was stimulated in anesthetised cats and Fos-protein was detected in coronal brain sections using standard avidin-biotin immunohistochemistry. A pattern of Fos-positive cells restricted to the caudal ventrolateral periaqueductal gray was revealed suggesting that this region may mediate the pattern of somatic and autonomic responses characteristic of migraine.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Histology, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia. keay@anatomy.su.oz.au
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Keay
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bandler
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001784:Blood Gas Analysis; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000378:metabolism; D002415:Cats; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D010487:Periaqueductal Gray / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D014653:Vascular Headaches / Q000503:physiopathology*
chemical_list: D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos; D002245:Carbon Dioxide