Abstract

Trigeminal Neuralgia (TN) is an attacking, abrupt and electric-shock headache in the realm of one or two branches of trigeminal nerves. It is one of the most severe neuropathic pains ever known. By considering main known regions of the brain involved in TN, we made a conceptual model named TN pain neuro matrix. Then we took an external stimulation into account and assayed the different possible approaches about how it may be concluded to pain relief.

Keywords: Conceptual modeling; Pain management; Pain network; Trigeminal neuralgia; Transcranial direct current stimulation

Abbreviations: TN: Trigeminal Neuralgia; tDCS: Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation; S1: Primary Somatosensory Cortex; S2: Secondary Somatosensory Cortex; IC: Insula Cortex; ACC: Anterior Cingulate Cortex; PCC: Posterior Cingulate Cortex; PF: Prefrontal Cortex; PAG: Periaqueductal Gray; M1: Primary Motor Cortex; SMA: Supplementary Motor Area; PB: Parabrachial Nucleus; ISVT: Interstitial Nucleus of the Spinal Trigeminal Tract; DRG: Dorsal Root Ganglion; VPL: Ventral Posterolateral Nucleus; VPM: Ventral Posteromedial Nucleus; RF: Reticular Formation; SCA: Superior Cerebellar Artery; VAS: Visual Analogue Scale; nBR: Nociceptive Blink Reflex; PREP: Pain-Related Evoked Potentials; MRI: Magnetic Resonance Imaging; H-MRS: Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; TG: Trigeminal Ganglion; CeA: Central Nucleus of Amygdala; PSN: Principle Sensory Nucleus; STN: Spinal Trigeminal Nucleus.