Open Accessμ ‐Opioid activation in the prefrontal cortex in migraine attacks – brief report I
Author(s) -
DaSilva Alexandre F.,
Nascimento Thiago D.,
DosSantos Marcos F.,
Lucas Sarah,
Holsbeeck Hendrik,
DeBoer Misty,
Maslowski Eric,
Love Tiffany,
Martikainen Ilkka K.,
Koeppe Robert A.,
Smith Yolanda R.,
Zubieta JonKar
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
annals of clinical and translational neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.824
H-Index - 42
ISSN - 2328-9503
DOI - 10.1002/acn3.65
Subject(s) - ictal , medicine , headaches , migraine , opioid , prefrontal cortex , anesthesia , neuroscience , psychiatry , electroencephalography , receptor , psychology , cognition
We evaluated in vivo the μ ‐opioid system during spontaneous episodic migraine headaches. Seven patients were scanned at different phases of their migraine using positron emission tomography with the selective μ ‐opioid receptor ( μ OR ) radiotracer [11C]carfentanil. In the ictal phase, there was μ OR activation in the medial prefrontal cortex, which was strongly associated with the μ OR availability level during the interictal phase. Furthermore, μ ‐opioid binding changes showed moderate negative correlation with the combined extension and severity of the attacks. These results indicate for the first time that there is high μ OR activation in the migraineurs' brains during headache attacks in response to their pain.