Nociceptive blink reflex and pain-related evoked potentials in hypnic headache:

Background: Central facilitation of trigeminal pain processing and deficient habituation was observed in different headache and facial pain disorders. This overactivation seems to be primarily associated with chronic pain states.Objective: To investigate the function of the trigeminal nociceptive system in patients with hypnic headache (HH).Methods: Fifteen HH patients according International Classification of Headache Disorders II criteria and 15 age- and gender-matched healthy controls were investigated using the nociceptive blink reflex (nBR) and trigeminal pain-related evoked potentials (PREP).Results: nBR and PREP responses showed no significant differences comparing HH patients and healthy controls. Moreover, no habituation deficit was detected in HH patients.Conclusion: Central facilitation and change in habituation do not seem to be a crucial part in the pathophysiology of HH despite the chronic nature of this disease. Facilitation or habituation deficit does not seem to be exclusively related to ...