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A groundbreaking University of Iowa study shows that personalized fMRI-guided TMS can now reach and modulate the deep hippocampus — the brain’s command center for memory, emotion, and migraine — without surgery or heavy medications. By mapping each patient’s unique neural pathways, TMS delivers precise stimulation to surface “control points” that influence deep brain structures. Generic approaches barely work, but individualized targeting produces clear, measurable changes. At our headache clinic, we combine TMS and fMRI to offer this advanced, personalized treatment for migraines, depression, PTSD, anxiety, and more.

Elismetrep is a promising experimental migraine medication that targets the TRPM8 pathway rather than serotonin or CGRP. Early clinical trials suggest it may offer a new option for patients who do not respond well to current treatments.

New research shows how the brain dynamically regulates excitability in real time—and why this matters for transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) as a treatment for migraine.

A major new study of over 7,000 migraine patients tracked two decades of air pollution, temperature, and humidity data, and found that the environment isn't just a background player. It's an active trigger.

A new study challenges the belief that young children quickly recover from concussions, showing that symptoms can persist for months and highlighting the importance of early evaluation and care.

Migraines often strike on one side. Scientists say that matters more than we think New data may improve outcomes when we use TMS to treat migraines

This post explains how lidocaine, beyond its traditional use as a local anesthetic, can be given by IV or directly into the middle meningeal artery to help break severe, treatment-resistant migraines, with early studies showing promising relief and generally mild, manageable side effects.

It is long overue to make triptans available without a prescription, like in the rest of the world.

Triptans are safer than thought, while CGRP drugs are less so.

Could drugs like Ozempic, Saxenda, and Zepbound help migraines? Extra weight often increases migraine headache frequency and makes standard treatments less effective. But a study just published in the journal Headache shows that a medication commonly used for weight loss and diabetes, liraglutide (Saxenda), might offer relief for tough-to-treat migraines in people with obesity.

It was an unusual week at the New York Headache Center. After months of relative calm, my schedule suddenly filled with cluster headache patients—one even consulting me virtually from Saudi Arabia. The influx came right after a G5-level geomagnetic storm, one of the strongest solar events in recent memory.

A week-long meditation retreat produces dramatic changes in brain and metabolic functions

A new study published in the journal PAIN by Dr. A. Amorim and her colleagues at the University of California San Diego examined how mindfulness meditation reduces pain. The findings help clarify whether mindfulness meditation is more effective than simple slow breathing for pain relief.

A large Brazilian study published in Neurology followed nearly 13,000 adults for eight years and found something troubling: people who consumed the most artificial sweeteners showed faster cognitive...

Recently published research on lithium deficiency in Alzheimer’s disease has caught the attention of the media. As a neurologist specializing in pain and headache medicine with an interest in no...

There’s something powerful about human touch when you’re hurting. As a neurologist, I see every day how a gentle hand squeeze from someone you trust can shift your pain—not just emotionally, but in...

In my latest book, The End of Migraines: 150 Ways to Stop Your Pain, I mentioned studies that showed the pain-relieving effect of virtual reality. New research reveals how immersive natural environments...

Aphasia, a language disorder that often follows stroke, affects millions of people worldwide. It can make speaking, understanding, reading, and writing difficult or even impossible. For many, recovery stalls after the first few months, leaving…

Many women with migraine worry about taking their medications during pregnancy. Migraine drugs in the triptan family (like sumatriptan, rizatriptan, etc.) are very effective for stopping attacks, but questions have remained about their safety for…

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a term used by neurologists to describe symptoms such as forgetting names, losing focus, or struggling with simple tasks. While MCI involves subtle changes in memory or thinking that don’t…

Researchers at USC’s Keck Medicine presented a poster with their findings at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Headache Society in Minneapolis, which concluded yesterday. They described the effect...

A large new study led by Dr. Sait Ashina reveals that revolutionary migraine prevention medications remain significantly underutilized, even though they represent a major breakthrough in migraine...

For over 15 years, research has been building a compelling case that vitamin D plays a crucial role in neurological health, far beyond its well-known effects on bone health. Recent groundbreaking studies are...

For years, doctors and patients have worried that migraines—especially those with aura—might leave behind silent “scars” in the brain, visible as white spots (called white matter hyperintensities, or WMHs) on MRI...

Scientists at Copenhagen University Hospital compared 132 adults who still had headaches a year or more after a mild traumatic brain injury (called persistent post-traumatic headache, or PTH) with 751 people...

We have been using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to treat chronic migraine headaches and other types of pain and neurological disorders. An article published in Pain Medicine News provides...

At the New York Headache Center, we have been using fMRI-guided repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) to treat chronic migraine, posttraumatic headaches (PTH), pain syndromes, and neurological...

A major new study offers hope for athletes and others recovering from concussion: using over-the-counter (OTC) analgesics like acetaminophen and NSAIDs may significantly improve symptoms and reduce...