SUMMARY
Research in the Neuroimaging of Headache Disorders Laboratory of Todd J. Schwedt, M.D., uses advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques to study migraines, post-traumatic headaches and concussions. He applies structural measures such as regional morphometric, diffusion tensor imaging and T2* to examine these conditions. Dr. Schwedt also uses functional measures, including event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging and resting state functional connectivity, to study these illnesses.
The goal of Dr. Schwedt's research is to identify imaging biomarkers that will assist in classifying, treating, and prognosticating outcomes for people with migraines, post-traumatic headaches and concussions.
Focus areas
- Pain processing in migraine. Dr. Schwedt uses functional MRI to investigate the atypical processing of pain that is present in people with migraine. Techniques include quantitative sensory testing and functional MRI during painful thermal stimulation. This allows for identification of brain areas where atypical pain processing occurs in the migraine brain.
- Brain functional and structural connectivity. Diffusion tensor imaging and resting state functional connectivity analyses are employed to determine the structural and functional organization of the brain in the presence of disease.
- Modeling imaging data for classification and prognosis. With the help of research collaborators with expertise in advanced modeling, Dr. Schwedt strives to develop multivariate models of MRI data that assist with the classification and prognosis of concussion, migraine and other headache disorders.
Significance to patient care
The research conducted in the Neuroimaging of Headache Disorders Laboratory provides a more in-depth description of central pain processing and connectivity of pain processing regions in the brains of individuals with migraines, post-traumatic headaches and concussions. The multivariate models of imaging data that Dr. Schwedt and collaborators develop are useful for classification and prognosis of people's outcomes.
Professional highlights
- Mayo Clinic Arizona:
- Director, Clinicians Engaged in Research Faculty Development Program, 2023-present.
- Chair, Neurology Research, 2017-present.
- Investigator of the Year, 2021.
- President-elect, American Headache Society, 2022-present.