Posted by Flash (134.32.125.198) on March 10, 2000 at 05:36:35:
In Reply to: CH, the mind and LSD-25 theory linkage....(moderately long)... posted by Q on March 09, 2000 at 14:16:10:
Yes I have read the Hoffmann, but, it was the first thing I read after I made the connection back in 1995.
LSD (and Psilocilin/Psilocybin) act on CH in two ways:
1) They have a marked vascular constictor effect, that will abort a headache. The same as ergotamine does. Erogtamine is a related substance.
2) The have a preventative effect live methysergide (deseril/sansert).
The second is due to the way the body metabolises the drug. One of the metabolates is very similar to serotonin, in that is is a simple structure containing an 'indole ring'.
It has been shown that the hypothalmus in CH sufferers is enlarged. The hypothalmus is responsible for the sleep/wake cycle, it is essentially the body clock. To facilitate this it controls excretions of the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland secretes several substances, one of those is serotonin.
That is probably how it works.