
Yi-Ling Kuo, PhD
CURRENT APPOINTMENTS
LANGUAGES
RESEARCH PROGRAMS AND AFFILIATIONS
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Neurophysiology
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
Functional MRI
Motor control and motor learning in professional musicians
Motor recovery after stroke
Focal dystonia
Repetitive TMS (rTMS) in concussion
EDUCATION
PREVIOUS APPOINTMENTS
RESEARCH ABSTRACT
Dr. Kuo's research emphasizes the neurophysiological basis of motor control, from non-disabled individuals, patients with neurologic disorders, to elite performers. She uses transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), a non-invasive brain stimulation technique, as well as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), to probe human brain physiology. Her work in brain stimulation and neuroimaging is combined with motor behavior measures to understand the brain-behavior relationship. Dr. Kuo has been focusing on improving the methodology of TMS assessments. These updated methodologies have been applied in various projects to understand motor system neurophysiology, including revealing the neural underpinning of hand dexterity in professional musicians, the pathophysiology in acute stroke, focal dystonia and Alzheimer’s Disease, and the neural mechanisms of the corticobulbar tract in speech motor function.
Dr. Kuo is currently leading a project applying repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to treat persistent post-traumatic headaches and post-concussion symptoms in mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). This project aims to demonstrate the long-term benefits of rTMS in chronic pain. Furthermore, through neurophysiologic and gene-based analyses, this study will identify biomarkers predictive of responsiveness to rTMS and determine ideal candidates to receive this novel neuromodulatory intervention.