Investigating brain-wide local field potential connectivity patterns underlying migraine

Migraine is a debilitating disease, impacting over 1 billion people worldwide. Migraine consists of complex brain circuitry characterized by dysfunctional sensory-related brain circuits that intersect pain, sensation, and affect. Preclinical models of migraine have shed light on migraine-related phenotypes such as allodynia, facial grimace/squint, and light aversion. The calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) model of migraine has emerged as one of the most clinically relevant models of migraine, leading to a number of therapeutic drugs targeting CGRP and its receptors. The ways in which different brain regions are coordinated during migraine is poorly understood. My thesis focused on answering this question by utilizing a systems-based approach using multi-site in vivo recordings to capture brain network activity in the form of local field potentials (LFP) during a CGRP-induced migraine-like brain state in rodents.