Capturing the aversive state of cephalic pain preclinically

Abstract

Cephalic pain was unmasked in rats by assessment of motivated behavior to seek relief. Relief of pain activates the dopaminergic reward pathway to elicit negative reinforcement of behavior. Medications clinically effective for migraine headache selectively elicit relief of ongoing cephalic, but not postsurgical, noncephalic pain. These studies provide a platform for exploring migraine pathophysiology and for the discovery of new headache therapies.