A study in the Journal of Psychopharmacology found a surprising connection between psychedelic use and frequent bad headaches. Could psilocybin play a role in headache treatment? Molly O’Brien explains in this Migraine Minute News Update. 

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Script:

A new study in the Journal of Psychopharmacology shows that people who’ve used psychedelics like LSD or psilocybin may be less likely to experience frequent bad headaches.

Researchers analyzed data from a large group of people in the UK and found that those who reported a lifetime use of classic psychedelics were 25% less likely to report frequent bad headaches compared to those who had never used them.

So why might that be? One thought is that both psychedelics and conventional migraine drugs (like triptans) work on serotonin receptors in the brain.

While the study doesn’t prove that psychedelics directly prevent headaches, It DOES add to growing evidence that psychedelics may be a helpful tool to treat headache disorders. And a quick note, psychedelics are illegal on a federal level in the US. That’s your migraine minute news update, I’m Molly O’Brien.

Images: Sage Journals. The Journal of Psychopharmacology. doi: 10.1177/02698811251324

License to use: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/