Central projections of sensory innervation of the rat superficial temporal artery

Elucidating the central sensory projection pathways of extra- and intracranial vessels appears to be of fundamental importance for understanding the pathogenetic mechanisms of primary headaches. In this paper, two kinds of tracers, choleragenoid (cholera toxin subunit b, CTb) and wheat germ agglutinin conjugated horseradish peroxidase (WGA-HRP), were used to transganglionically label the central sensory projections of the innervation of the superficial temporal artery (STA). Following either of the tracers applied on the adventitia of the STA, labelled terminations were found mainly in the ipsilateral C1-C3 spinal dorsal horns. Sparse labelling was also found in the interpolar and caudal parts of the spinal trigeminal nucleus. In the spinal cord, CTb labelled profiles were mainly located in laminae III and IV, whereas WGA-HRP labelled profiles were mainly located in laminae I and II. In the medulla, CTb but not WGA-HRP labelled terminals were found in a small dorsolateral extension of the cuneate nucleus. The present results indicate that the primary sensory nervous center of the STA is located in the rostral cervical spinal dorsal horn. The caudal parts of the spinal trigeminal nucleus, which has been demonstrated as a center of pain and temperature sensations of the head and face, transmits limited information from the STA to higher nervous centers.