Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 20, 2025

3D-Neuronavigation In Vivo Through a Patient's Brain During a Spontaneous Migraine Headache
Published on: June 2, 2014
The Potential of Psychedelics for the Treatment of Episodic Migraine
1Headache Center of Excellence, Neurology Service, Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System, 950 Campbell Avenue, West Haven, CT, USA. emmanuelle.schindler@yale.edu.
Purpose Of Review:
This review presents the existing literature of and a framework for how psychedelic drugs might be applied as therapeutic agents in episodic migraine.
Recent Findings:
The therapeutic effects of psychedelics in headache disorders have been reported for decades and controlled investigations are now beginning. In the first and only clinical trial of a psychedelic drug in migraine, the single administration of low-dose psilocybin reduced weekly migraine days and pain intensity for the following 2 weeks in episodic subjects. These transitional effects, along with abortive effects in two subjects and additional findings in cluster headache, offer insight into the potential medicinal use of this and other psychedelic drugs in episodic migraine. The existing evidence supports the continued investigation of psilocybin and other psychedelics as transitional treatments in episodic migraine. Acute and preventive effects also exist, but the risks may outweigh benefits with these applications. Future research of psychedelics in episodic migraine should be tailored for this condition and not modeled after protocols used in other medical or psychiatric conditions.
Related Concept Videos
CNS Stimulants: Psychedelic Agents
Hallucinogens and Psychedelics
Marijuana, derived from the dried leaves and flowers of the hemp plant, contains...
Electroconvulsive Therapy
Psychosis: Goals of Pharmacotherapy
Altered States of Awareness
The ingestion of substances like stimulants or hallucinogens leads to chemical alterations in the brain...
Drug Therapy
Antianxiety Medications

