Jochen Lennerz, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO and Karl Messlinger, M.D., Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany

Trigeminal nerve cells are the central hub of migraine headaches. Two key components are indicated by different colors. The red-eyed ‘face’ illustrates the accumulation of the mediator CGRP (red) during a migraine attack. The pivotal event in trigeminal pain is the interaction of the CGRP mediator with its receptor RAMP1 (blue). Learning to control this interaction may result in therapeutic options for patients suffering from migraine attacks.