Background: Cortical spreading depression (CSD) is a wave of depolarization followed by depression of bioelectrical activity that slowly propagates through the cortex. CSD is believed to be the underlying mechanism of aura in migraine; however, whether CSD can elicit pain associated with migraine headache is unclear.
Methods: Awake, freely moving rats were monitored for both CSD events and behavioral responses resulting from dural-cortical pinprick and/or KCl injection to the occipital cortex.
Results: We observed tactile allodynia of the face and hindpaws, as well as enhanced Fos expression within the trigeminal nucleus caudalis (TNC) following CSD induced by KCl injection into the cortex, but not by pinprick. Application of KCl onto the dura elicited cutaneous allodynia and increased Fos staining in the TNC but did not elicit CSD events.
Conclusions: These data suggest that sustained activation of trigeminal afferents that may be required to establish cutaneous allodynia may not occur following CSD events in normal animals.