Anatomy & Physiology Of Headache Overview [Mnemonic]

Anatomy & Physiology Of Headache :

• P – Pain perception is a normal physiologic response
• A – Activated inappropriately, pain-producing pathways can cause pain
• I – Intracranial vessels and dura mater are key structures in primary headache
• N – Nociceptors are stimulated by tissue injury or other factors
• T – Trigeminal nerve innervates the large intracranial vessels and dura mater
• R – Rostral pain-processing regions, such as the cortex, are involved in primary headache
• I – Input from the first and second cervical nerve roots in the trigeminocervical complex
• G – Modulation of input from the trigeminal nociceptors by pain-modulatory systems in the brain
• E – Ependyma, choroid plexus, pial veins, and much of the brain parenchyma are not pain-producing
• M – Migraine and other primary headache types are not “vascular headaches”
• I – In the trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias, autonomic symptoms reflect activation of cranial parasympathetic pathways
• N – Not causative, autonomic symptoms are secondary events in the headache cascade
• O – Often mistaken for symptoms or signs of cranial sinus inflammation, which is then overdiagnosed and inappropriately managed
• C – Cranial autonomic symptoms may also be seen in migraine, even in children
• O – Outcomes cannot be predicted by vascular effects, as migraine is a brain disorder
• R – Relatively few cranial structures are pain-producing

Mnemonic: ” PAIN-TRIGEMINO-CORtex systems“