The primary focus of my research is on understanding how the brain contributes to the development and maintenance of chronic pain, in particular in patients with chronic migraine and chronic myofascial pain. To advance this research, I apply state-of-the-art MRI-based techniques to measure alterations in brain function, metabolism and structure. Novel techniques are developed and implemented both with respect to MRI sequences and data analysis approaches. Recent research is focused on three inter-linked topics: (1) brainstem functional imaging and its application to migraine patients; (2) investigation of the role of the reward system in chronic migraine patients with medication overuse headache (MOH); (3) brain changes across the different migraine phases. In the first line of research, brainstem imaging will be applied in patients with episodic and chronic migraine. In the second line of research, the brain mechanisms underlying MOH in chronic migraine patients is explored with task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging. The intertemporal choice task (ITC) is used to probe the reward system or more specifically the processing of the subjective temporal discount factor. In addition, transcranial direct current stimulation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is applied to explore whether the subjective discount factor can be modulated. In the third line of research, cross-sectional data from episodic migraine patients in inter-ictal, pre-ictal, ictal, and post-ictal phases are analyzed using structural MRI measures, such as voxel- and surface-based morphometry, as well as resting-state functional connectivity measures. All research is performed in close collaboration with clinicians and MR physicists.

• Ministry of Science and Technology, MOST 110-2314-B-A49A-536, David M. Niddam (PI) 2021/08/01 – 2022/07/31 Task-related and resting-state brainstem networks in chronic migraine patients with medication overuse headache
• Ministry of Science and Technology, MOST 107-2314-B-010 -018 -MY3, David M. Niddam (PI) 2018/08/01 – 2021/07/31 Neural mechanisms of reward-based decision making in chronic migraine with medication overuse headache
• Ministry of Science and Technology, MOST 105-2628-B-010 -011 -MY2, David M. Niddam (PI) 2016/08/01 – 2018/07/31 Predicting the response to preventive medication in patients with chronic migraine using magnetic resonance spectroscopy
• Ministry of Science and Technology, MOST 102-2628-B-010-004-MY3, David M. Niddam (PI) 2013/08/01 – 2016/07/31 Neuroimaging and neuromodulation of pain in refractory tension type headache
• Ministry of Science and Technology, MOST 111-2321-B-A49-004, Role: Co-PI Decoding pain sensitivity in migraine with multimodal brainstem imaging markers/ 以多模組腦幹神經標誌解碼偏頭痛的痛覺敏感性－以多模組腦幹神經標誌解碼偏頭痛的痛覺敏感性(2/2)
• Ministry of Science and Technology, MOST 110-2321-B-010 -005, Role: Co-PI Decoding pain sensitivity in migraine with multimodal brainstem imaging markers/ 以多模組腦幹神經標誌解碼偏頭痛的痛覺敏感性-以多模組腦幹神經標誌解碼偏頭痛的痛覺敏感性(1/2) 2021/01/01- 2021/12/31
• Ministry of Science and Technology, MOST 109-2314-B-075 -049 -, Role: Co-PI 慢性偏頭痛患者之預防性治療：臨床與多模神經影像學之相關性 2020/08/01 – 2021/07/31
• Ministry of Science and Technology, MOST 105-2321-B-010-002-, Role: Co-PI 2016/08/01 – 2017/07/31 穿顱直流電刺激於嚴重難治型原發性痛經之療效：臨床及基因神經造影研究(3/3)