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Myself, I'd go for the ergot theory. The medication I'm prescribed for the migraines is based on caffeine and a refined ergotamine, and the dreams I have after taking the concoction are to say the least supernatural. The theory runs that as regulars in the Middle Ages so often subsisted on rye bread, and since rye grain and flour are so readily contaminated with the ergot fungus, the religious suffered regularly (!) from ergot poisoning and perhaps experienced their "visions" as a result. John Parsons On Tue, 29 Dec 1998, John Shinners wrote: > I hate to be a reductionist, but my first thought was that St. > Hildegard of Bingen would be a likely patroness against migraine. > According to Oliver Sacks, the "radiant luminosity" and other features of > her vivid mystical visions leave "no room for doubt concerning their > nature: they were indisputably migrainous." This from a short, > provocative chapter in his fascinating _Man Who Mistook His Wife For A > Hat_. > John Shinners > > -- > John R. Shinners e-mail: [log in to unmask] > Associate Professor Phone (office): (219) 284-4494 > Humanistic Studies Program Phone (dept.): (219) 284-4485 > Saint Mary's College Fax: (219) 284-4716 > Notre Dame, IN 46556 > > %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%