Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32962405›Full record

ArticleCephalalgia : an international journal of headache2020

Mapping the trigeminal root entry zone and its pontine fibre distribution patterns.

Alis Guberinic, Veerle Souverein, Ruben Volkers, Anne-Marie van Cappellen van Walsum, Kris Cp Vissers, Jeroen Mollink, Dylan Jha Henssen

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cephalalgia : an international journal of headache, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
0.4field-weighted citation impact, top 32% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. When tongue pain is trigeminal neuralgia: illustrative cases.Journal of neurosurgery. Case lessons · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.

Alis GuberinicDepartment of Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Anatomy, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Veerle SouvereinDepartment of Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Anatomy, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Ruben VolkersDepartment of Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Anatomy, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Anne-Marie van Cappellen van WalsumDepartment of Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Anatomy, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Kris Cp VissersDepartment of Anesthesiology, Pain and Palliative Care, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Jeroen MollinkDepartment of Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Anatomy, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Dylan Jha HenssenDepartment of Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Anatomy, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0002-3915-3034
Radboud University Nijmegen · NL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionRecently, an additional trigeminothalamic tract - the dorsal trigeminothalamic tract - has been described in human brainstems by our group next to the known ventral trigeminothalamic tract. As various elements of the trigeminal system are known to be organised in a somatotopic fashion, the question arose whether the fibres within the trigeminal root show specific distributions patterns in their contribution to the ventral trigeminothalamic tract and dorsal trigeminothalamic tract specifically.

methodsThis study investigated the arrangement of the fibres in the trigeminal root by combining various imaging methods in the pons of 11 post-mortem specimens. The pons were investigated by polarised light imaging (PLI) (n = 4; to quantify fibre orientation; 100 µm interslice distance), histochemical staining methods (n = 3; to visualise the internal myeloarchitecture; 60 µm) and ultra-high field, post-mortem magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (n = 4; for tractography; 500 µm interslice distance).

resultsThis study shows that the fibres, from the point where the trigeminal root enters the brainstem, are distinctly arranged by their contribution to the ventral trigeminothalamic tract and dorsal trigeminothalamic tract. This finding is supported by both post-mortem, ultra-high dMRI and different light microscopy techniques.

conclusionThe data from this study suggest that the fibres in the superior half of the root contribute mainly to the ventral trigeminothalamic tract, whereas the fibres in the inferior half mainly contribute to the dorsal trigeminothalamic tract. Such a somatotopic organisation could possibly create new insights into the anatomical origin of trigeminal neuralgia and the clinical relevance of this somatotopic organisation should therefore be further explored.

Indexed as

PonsBrain StemHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingTrigeminal NerveTrigeminal NeuralgiaAnatomyarrangementsomatotopy trigeminal nervetrigeminal roottrigeminothalamic tract

Identifiers

PMID32962405
PMCPMC7691629
OpenAlexW3088035589

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.