title: A chronic animal model of migraine, induced by repeated meningeal nociception, characterized by a behavioral and pharmacological approach.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Migraine is a chronic neurovascular disease characterized by recurrent unilateral headache, which induces incapacity. Despite all the progress that migraine research has provided, the neural mechanisms underlying the onset and maintenance of migraine attacks are poorly understood. Due to the complex characteristics of the disorder, it is difficult to develop a proper animal model that mimics all the clinical manifestations in humans.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Taking into account the principal characteristics of the disease, the aim of this study is to develop a chronic animal model of migraine in which we can reproduce behavioral and pharmacological phenomena similar to those displayed by migraineurs.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our animal model displayed behavioral and pharmacological results similar to those experienced by migraineurs. Specifically, there was a decrease in routine physical activity and an increase in resting behavior. Also, the animals exhibited a novel behavior that we called ipsilateral facial grooming behavior provoked by the meningeal nociception. Moreover, one of the drugs used as treatment for migraine reduced the manifestations previously described. Our results determine that the model mimics many of the clinical features that patients exhibit during migraine attacks. This model can contribute to further understanding of the pathophysiology and the study of novel therapeutic approaches.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Neurofisiología de la Percepción, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, México.
authors.forename: Agustin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Melo-Carrillo
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lopez-Avila
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D007509:Irritants / Q000633:toxicity; D008297:Male; D008578:Meninges / Q000187:drug effects; D008881:Migraine Disorders; D059225:Nociception; D017208:Rats, Wistar
chemical_list: D007509:Irritants
keywords: Migraine; headache; model; rat; treatment; triptans