Background: Migraine is a remarkably common and disabling brain disorder , primarily affecting the sensory system but involving the whole central nervous system. The cortical spreading depression (CSD) is considered the neurophysiological correlate of the migraine aura, characterized by transient sensory alterations preceding the headache in a third of patients CSD is a self sust aining and slowly propagating wave of nearly complete depolarization of brain cells, which can be experimentally induced in brain tissue,
both in acute preparations and in vivo . However, CSD generation and propagation, as well as migraine pathophysiology, remain poorly understood.
Project: Here, we propose to investigate CSD impact on neuronal networks in the cerebral and cerebellar cortex. The project will exploit cutting edge neurophysiological techniques as high density multielectrode array recordings (HD MEA, 3Bra in) in acute slices and microendoscopic calcium imaging using miniscopes (nVoke2, in freely moving mice We will take advantage of the FHM mouse models of migraine to characterize CSD impact on neural networks and its threshold in cont rol and mutated mice, both ex vivo and in vivo. Moreover, the project will also aim at
investigating the impact of sleep deprivation, which is one of the main known triggers of the migraine attack , on CSD susceptibility.
If you are interested, please contact Lisa Mapelli ( lisa.mapelli@unipv.it)