Stress and tension-type headache mechanisms

Cephalalgia ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 30 (10) ◽  
pp. 1250-1267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart Cathcart ◽  
Anthony H Winefield ◽  
Kurt Lushington ◽  
Paul Rolan
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Tension Type Headache ◽  
Pain Processing ◽  
Central Pain ◽  
Comprehensive Review ◽  
Healthy Humans ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Type Headache ◽  
The Relationship

Stress is widely demonstrated as a contributing factor in tension-type headache (TTH). The mechanisms underlying this remain unclear at present. Recent research indicates the importance of central pain processes in tension-type headache (TTH) pathophysiology. Concurrently, research with animals and healthy humans has begun to elucidate the relationship between stress and pain processing in the central nervous system, including central pain processes putatively dysfunctional in TTH. Combined, these two fields of research present new insights and hypotheses into possible mechanisms by which stress may contribute to TTH. To date, however, there has been no comprehensive review of this literature. The present paper provides such a review, which may be valuable in facilitating a broader understanding of the central mechanisms by which stress may contribute to TTH.

Dysfunction of the Central Nervous System in Chronic Whiplash and Tension-Type Headache

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Astrup ◽  
Finn Gyntelberg ◽  
Anne-Marie Johansen ◽  
Anders Lei ◽  
Jacob Louis Marott
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Tension Type Headache ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Type Headache ◽  
Chronic Whiplash

scholarly journals Impaired neuro-motor control in chronic whiplash and tension-type headache

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Astrup ◽  
Finn Gyntelberg ◽  
Anne-Marie Johansen ◽  
Anders Lei ◽  
Jacob Louis Marott
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Motor Control ◽  
Reference Point ◽  
Tension Type Headache ◽  
Head Movements ◽  
Laser Tracking ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Type Headache ◽  
Chronic Whiplash

Abstract BackgroundThe purpose of this study is to support the hypothesis that the neuro-motor control of the neck muscles is impaired in the diseases of chronic whiplash and tension-type headache. This hypothesis is based on a previous study, and if confirmed, it indicates that the central nervous system may be part of the pathophysiology of these diseases. For further verification, we designed a laser tracking method for standardized and quantitative measurements of movements of head and hand. The hand was included as a presumed normal reference to the head movements.MethodsA new laser tracking instrument was designed to monitor the ability of a test-person to track a reference point on the wall by a laser fixed to the forehead or held in the hand. The reference point moves in runs of a circle or a square at three different speeds 10, 20 or 30 cm/sec thus providing 6 runs for both head and hand per test-person. We used a 1x1x1 m set-up geometry. The data of each run was processed on-line. Groups of 22 patients diagnosed with chronic whiplash associated disorder, 19 patients diagnosed with chronic tension-type headache and 37 control persons were compared.FindingsA small but highly significant dyscoordination of head movements was observed in both patients groups, and in whiplash also of the hand. InterpretationOur study confirms the hypothesis that the neuro-motor control of the neck muscles is impaired in both chronic whiplash and tension-type headache. In our view this observation implicates that the central nervous system may be involved in the primary pathology of both these diseases. Accordingly, we suggest a provisional term 'cervical dyssynergia' for these diseases, and suggest further studies along this paradigm.

Generalized Hyperalgesia in Patients With Chronic Tension-Type Headache

Cephalalgia ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 26 (8) ◽  
pp. 940-948 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Ashina ◽  
L Bendtsen ◽  
M Ashina ◽  
W Magerl ◽  
R Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Electrical Stimulation ◽  
Pain Sensitivity ◽  
Temporal Summation ◽  
Tension Type Headache ◽  
Pain Thresholds ◽  
Pain Ratings ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Type Headache

Increased pain sensitivity in the central nervous system may play an important role in the pathophysiology of chronic tension-type headache (CTTH). Previous studies using pain thresholds as a measure of central pain sensitivity have yielded inconsistent results and only a few studies have examined perception of muscle pain without involvement of adjacent tissues. It has been suggested that suprathreshold testing might be more sensitive than threshold measurements in evaluation of central hyperexcitability in CTTH. The aim of the study was to compare pain ratings to suprathreshold single and repetitive (2 Hz) electrical stimulation of muscle and skin in cephalic (temporal and trapezius) and extracephalic (anterior tibial) regions between patients with CTTH and healthy subjects. In addition, we aimed to examine gender differences in pain ratings to suprathreshold stimulation and degree of temporal summation of pain between patients and controls. Pain ratings to both single and repetitive suprathreshold stimulation were higher in patients than in controls in both skin and muscle in all examined cephalic and extracephalic regions ( P < 0.04). Pain ratings to both single and repetitive suprathreshold electrical stimulation were significantly higher in female compared with male patients ( P < 0.001) and in female compared with male controls ( P ≤ 0.001). The degree of temporal summation of muscular and cutaneous pain tended to be higher in patients than in controls but the differences were not statistically different. This study provides evidence for generalized increased pain sensitivity in CTTH and strongly suggests that pain processing in the central nervous system is abnormal in this disorder. Furthermore, it indicates that suprathreshold stimulation is more sensitive than recording of pain thresholds for evaluation of generalized pain perception.

New concepts on the structure of the neuronal networks: The miniaturization and hierarchical organization of the central nervous system*

1984 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luigi F. Agnati ◽  
Kjell Fuxe
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Neuronal Networks ◽  
Hierarchical Organization ◽  
Memory Storage ◽  
Information Handling ◽  
New Concepts ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Local Circuits ◽  
The Relationship

The hypothesis is introduced that miniaturization of neuronal circuits in the central nervous system and the hierarchical organization of the various levels, where information handling can take place, may be the key to understand the enormous capability of the human brain to store engrams as well as its astonishing capacity to reconstruct and organize engrams and thus to perform highly sophisticated integrations. The concept is also proposed that in order to understand the relationship between the structural and functional plasticity of the central nervous system it is necessary to postulate the existence of memory storage at the network level, at the local circuit level, at the synaptic level, at the membrane level, and finally at the molecular level. Thus, memory organization is similar to the hierarchical organization of the various levels, where information handling takes place in the nervous system. In addition, each higher level plays a role in the reconstruction and organization of the engrams stored at lower levels. Thus, the trace of the functionally stored memory (i.e. its reconstruction and organization at various levels of storage) will depend not only on the chemicophysical changes in the membranes of the local circuits but also on the organization of the local circuits themselves and their associated neuronal networks.

On humoral factors in nervous activity

1935 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 777-787
Author(s):  
D. S. Vorontsov
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Nervous Activity ◽  
Active Part ◽  
Humoral Factors ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

Not only in the peripheral working organs, irritating substances are formed, which, as we can see, take an active part in their regulation, but also in the central nervous system, in the relationship of its individual elements, such substances apparently play an important role.

scholarly journals Chronic Pain in Inflammatory Arthritis: Mechanisms, Metrology, and Emerging Targets—A Focus on the JAK-STAT Pathway

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fausto Salaffi ◽  
Giovanni Giacobazzi ◽  
Marco Di Carlo
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Chronic Pain ◽  
Inflammatory Arthritis ◽  
Inflammatory Process ◽  
Pain Processing ◽  
Central Pain ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Central Pain Processing ◽  
Processing Mechanisms ◽  
Stat Pathway

Chronic pain is nowadays considered not only the mainstay symptom of rheumatic diseases but also “a disease itself.” Pain is a multidimensional phenomenon, and in inflammatory arthritis, it derives from multiple mechanisms, involving both synovitis (release of a great number of cytokines) and peripheral and central pain-processing mechanisms (sensitization). In the last years, the JAK-STAT pathway has been recognized as a pivotal component both in the inflammatory process and in pain amplification in the central nervous system. This paper provides a summary on pain in inflammatory arthritis, from pathogenesis to clinimetric instruments and treatment, with a focus on the JAK-STAT pathway.

scholarly journals Adiponectin and Cognitive Decline

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Rosaria Rizzo ◽  
Renata Fasano ◽  
Giuseppe Paolisso
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Neural Plasticity ◽  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Main Role ◽  
Menopausal Women ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Brain

Adiponectin (ADPN) is a plasma protein secreted by adipose tissue showing pleiotropic effects with anti-diabetic, anti-atherogenic, and anti-inflammatory properties. Initially, it was thought that the main role was only the metabolism control. Later, ADPN receptors were also found in the central nervous system (CNS). In fact, the receptors AdipoR1 and AdipoR2 are expressed in various areas of the brain, including the hypothalamus, hippocampus, and cortex. While AdipoR1 regulates insulin sensitivity through the activation of the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathway, AdipoR2 stimulates the neural plasticity through the activation of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) pathway that inhibits inflammation and oxidative stress. Overall, based on its central and peripheral actions, ADPN appears to have neuroprotective effects by reducing inflammatory markers, such as C-reactive protein (PCR), interleukin 6 (IL6), and Tumor Necrosis Factor a (TNFa). Conversely, high levels of inflammatory cascade factors appear to inhibit the production of ADPN, suggesting bidirectional modulation. In addition, ADPN appears to have insulin-sensitizing action. It is known that a reduction in insulin signaling is associated with cognitive impairment. Based on this, it is of great interest to investigate the mechanism of restoration of the insulin signal in the brain as an action of ADPN, because it is useful for testing a possible pharmacological treatment for the improvement of cognitive decline. Anyway, if ADPN regulates neuronal functioning and cognitive performances by the glycemic metabolic system remains poorly explored. Moreover, although the mechanism is still unclear, women compared to men have a doubled risk of developing cognitive decline. Several studies have also supported that during the menopausal transition, the estrogen reduction can adversely affect the brain, in particular, verbal memory and verbal fluency. During the postmenopausal period, in obese and insulin-resistant individuals, ADPN serum levels are significantly reduced. Our recent study has evaluated the relationship between plasma ADPN levels and cognitive performances in menopausal women. Thus, the aim of this review is to summarize both the mechanisms and the effects of ADPN in the central nervous system and the relationship between plasma ADPN levels and cognitive performances, also in menopausal women.

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