Abstract

COLLANTES, Laura  and  NAVARRO, J Francisco. Therapeutic potential of hallucinogens in headaches: a theoretical review. Escritos de Psicología [online]. 2021, vol.14, n.1, pp.30-44.  Epub Sep 20, 2021. ISSN 1989-3809.  https://dx.doi.org/10.24310/espsiescpsi.v14i1.12726.

Hallucinogens include a heterogeneous group of substances that cause changes in sensory perception, thought, and consciousness. In recent years, there has been increasing interest in the therapeutic potential of various hallucinogenic drugs. We present a literature review of the use of hallucinogens (LSD, psilocybin, and ketamine) in the treatment and prevention of headaches. Thus, we conducted a search (with no time limit) of the Web of Sciences, Scopus, and Pubmed databases, in addition to a manual search in the references of the articles. Results confirm the efficacy of LSD, especially in prophylaxis, ketamine could be useful to abort acute attacks, and psilocybin has been shown to be effective in both aspects. Available studies have been conducted mainly in patients with migraine and cluster headaches, among other types of headache disorders. Several methodological limitations are noted that may make it difficult to generalize the results. The need for future research in this emerging topic is suggested.

Keywords : hallucinogens; migraine; cluster headache; psilocybin; LSD; ketamine.

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