Charles Liu, MD, PhD

Dr. Liu completed his undergraduate education in Chemical Engineering at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and went on to receive his PhD in Chemical/Biomedical Engineering at Rice University. He then attended the Yale University School of Medicine, receiving his MD degree. He trained in neurosurgery at the University of Southern California Affiliated Hospitals.

He is presently professor of neurosurgery and neurology and holds the Apuzzo Professorship for Advanced Neurosurgery. He is also Director of the USC Center for Neurorestoration, which functions to bring scientific advances in the laboratory and engineers new tools to restore function to the injured and diseased nervous system. He also serves as the Surgical Director of the USC Comprehensive Epilepsy Program, one of the premier and highest volume surgical epilepsy programs in the world.

He has received numerous research awards and made a large number of visitorships/invited lectures throughout the world. He also serves as Associate Editor of the journal, WORLD NEUROSURGERY. He is a principal neurosurgical consultant for the NCAA USC Trojans Athletics Department. In addition, he serves on the Executive Committee of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. At Rancho los Amigos, Dr. Liu is Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery and is developing cutting-edge programs in restorative neurosurgery, collaborating with scientists at Caltech and USC, among others.

• Castle Connolly Medical Ltd.: Top Doctor, 2015
• Castle Connolly Medical Ltd: Top Doctor, 2011

• Neural prosthetic device yields fluid motions by robotic arm (05/21/2015)

• Functional ultrasound imaging through a human cranial window for mesoscopic mapping of motor effector encoding within the sensorimotor cortex. bioRxiv. 2026 Jul 09.. View in PubMed
• Real-time brain-computer interface control of walking exoskeleton with bilateral sensory feedback. Brain Stimul. 2026 May-Jun; 19(3):103065.. View in PubMed
• Rotational ultrasound and photoacoustic tomography of the human body. Nat Biomed Eng. 2026 Jan 16.. View in PubMed
• Charge density of multi-channel intra-cortical micro-stimulation modulates intensity and naturalness of evoked somatosensations. J Neural Eng. 2025 12 12; 22(6).. View in PubMed
• Cerebral Perfusion and Blood-Brain Barrier Changes After Cranioplasty: A Diffusion-Prepared Arterial Spin Labeling Study. J Neuroimaging. 2025 Nov-Dec; 35(6):e70106.. View in PubMed
• Assessing human scalp and brain blood flow sensitivities via superficial temporal artery occlusion using speckle contrast optical spectroscopy. APL Bioeng. 2025 Dec; 9(4):046106.. View in PubMed
• Visual context affects the perceived timing of tactile sensations elicited through intracortical microstimulation: a case study of two participants. J Neurophysiol. 2025 Nov 01; 134(5):1785-1803.. View in PubMed
• Promoting arm movement practice with a novel wheelchair armrest early after stroke: A randomized controlled trial. ArXiv. 2025 Oct 02.. View in PubMed
• Functional ultrasound imaging combined with machine learning for whole-brain analysis of drug-induced hemodynamic changes. Imaging Neurosci (Camb). 2025; 3.. View in PubMed
• Directional hand movement can be classified from insular cortex SEEG signals using recurrent neural networks and high-gamma band features. Sci Rep. 2025 Aug 16; 15(1):29993.. View in PubMed
• Significant seizure frequency reduction in a patient with refractory bitemporal epilepsy following transition from high-frequency to low-frequency responsive neurostimulation. Epilepsy Behav Rep. 2025 Dec; 32:100822.. View in PubMed
• Human spinal cord activation during filling and emptying of the bladder. Nat Commun. 2025 Jul 15; 16(1):6506.. View in PubMed
• Distributed Temporal Coding of Visual Memory Categories in Human Hippocampal Neurons Revealed by an Interpretable Decoding Model. Adv Sci (Weinh). 2025 Oct; 12(38):e02047.. View in PubMed
• Beta-band desynchronization in the human hippocampus during movement preparation in a delayed reach task. Exp Brain Res. 2025 Jun 23; 243(7):180.. View in PubMed
• Comparative evaluation of image registration techniques in functional ultrasound imaging. Imaging Neurosci (Camb). 2025; 3.. View in PubMed
• The challenges in establishing and Upholding an adult Level III epilepsy center in an underserved area in the United states. Epilepsy Behav Rep. 2025 Sep; 31:100779.. View in PubMed
• Beta-band power modulation in the human amygdala during a Direct Reach arm reaching task. Neurosci Res. 2025 Jul; 216:104906.. View in PubMed
• Long-Term Outcomes of Vagus Nerve Stimulation Paired With Upper Extremity Rehabilitation After Stroke. Stroke. 2025 Aug; 56(8):2255-2265.. View in PubMed
• Successful treatment of super-refractory focal status epilepticus: Surgery, vagus nerve stimulation, and botox for epilepsia partialis continua. Epilepsy Behav Rep. 2025 Sep; 31:100775.. View in PubMed
• Rotational ultrasound and photoacoustic tomography of the human body. ArXiv. 2025 Apr 22.. View in PubMed
• Neural Mechanisms of Poststroke Urinary Incontinence: Results From an fMRI Study. Stroke. 2025 Jun; 56(6):1516-1527.. View in PubMed
• Repair, Regeneration, and Replacement, Revisited (Redux). J Diabetes Sci Technol. 2025 May; 19(3):605-610.. View in PubMed
• Quantifying physical degradation alongside recording and stimulation performance of 980 intracortical microelectrodes chronically implanted in three humans for 956-2130 days. Acta Biomater. 2025 05 15; 198:188-206.. View in PubMed
• Beta-band power modulation in the human amygdala during a delayed reach task. J Clin Neurosci. 2025 May; 135:111151.. View in PubMed
• Cervical spinal cord stimulation for treatment of upper limb paralysis: a narrative review. J Hand Surg Eur Vol. 2025 06; 50(6):781-795.. View in PubMed
• Portable six-channel laser speckle system for simultaneous measurement of cerebral blood flow and volume with potential applications in characterization of brain injury. Neurophotonics. 2025 Jan; 12(1):015003.. View in PubMed
• Exploring the Feasibility of Bidirectional Spinal Cord Machine Interface Through Sensing and Stimulation of Axonal Bundles. IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng. 2025; 33:2004-2012.. View in PubMed
• Using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging to Detect Differences in Micturition-Related Brain Activity Between Volitional and Involuntary Detrusor Contractions. Neurourol Urodyn. 2025 Feb; 44(2):374-381.. View in PubMed
• Association that Neuroimaging and Clinical Measures Have with Change in Arm Impairment in a Phase 3 Stroke Recovery Trial. Ann Neurol. 2025 04; 97(4):709-719.. View in PubMed
• Human adult neurogenesis loss corresponds with cognitive decline during epilepsy progression. Cell Stem Cell. 2025 Feb 06; 32(2):293-301.e3.. View in PubMed
• Cognitive outcomes after magnetic resonance-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy for mesial temporal lobe epilepsy in adolescent patients. Epilepsy Behav Rep. 2024; 28:100723.. View in PubMed
• Correlating stroke risk with non-invasive cerebrovascular perfusion dynamics using a portable speckle contrast optical spectroscopy laser device. Biomed Opt Express. 2024 Oct 01; 15(10):6083-6097.. View in PubMed
• Beta-band power modulation in the human amygdala differentiates between go/no-go responses in an arm-reaching task. J Neural Eng. 2024 07 16; 21(4).. View in PubMed
• Beta-band power classification of go/no-go arm-reaching responses in the human hippocampus. J Neural Eng. 2024 07 15; 21(4).. View in PubMed
• Early feasibility of an embedded bi-directional brain-computer interface for ambulation. Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2024 Jul; 2024:1-5.. View in PubMed
• Compact and cost-effective laser-powered speckle contrast optical spectroscopy fiber-free device for measuring cerebral blood flow. J Biomed Opt. 2024 06; 29(6):067001.. View in PubMed
• Functional ultrasound imaging of human brain activity through an acoustically transparent cranial window. Sci Transl Med. 2024 05 29; 16(749):eadj3143.. View in PubMed
• Representation of internal speech by single neurons in human supramarginal gyrus. Nat Hum Behav. 2024 Jun; 8(6):1136-1149.. View in PubMed
• Understanding the human conflict processing network: A review of the literature on direct neural recordings during performance of a modified stroop task. Neurosci Res. 2024 Sep; 206:1-19.. View in PubMed
• Functional ultrasound imaging of the human spinal cord. Neuron. 2024 05 15; 112(10):1710-1722.e3.. View in PubMed
• Neuromodulation of Eating Disorders: A Review of Underlying Neural Network Activity and Neuromodulatory Treatments. Brain Sci. 2024 Feb 22; 14(3).. View in PubMed
• Reply by Authors. J Urol. 2024 02; 211(2):304.. View in PubMed
• Primary somatosensory cortex organization for engineering artificial somatosensation. Neurosci Res. 2024 Jul; 204:1-13.. View in PubMed
• Stereotactic Frame-Based Electrode Insertion: The Accuracy of Increasingly Oblique Insertion Angles. Turk Neurosurg. 2024; 34(1):128-134.. View in PubMed
• Zinc deficiency impairs axonal regeneration and functional recovery after spinal cord injury by modulating macrophage polarization via NF-κB pathway. Front Immunol. 2023; 14:1290100.. View in PubMed
• A Pilot Study of the Effect of Transcutaneous Spinal Cord Stimulation on Micturition-Related Brain Activity and Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms After Stroke. J Urol. 2024 02; 211(2):294-304.. View in PubMed
• Suppression of cortical electrostimulation artifacts using pre-whitening and null projection. J Neural Eng. 2023 09 22; 20(5).. View in PubMed
• Neurotropism of SARS-CoV-2: A Pathological Examination of Neurosurgical Specimens. Neurosurgery. 2024 02 01; 94(2):379-388.. View in PubMed
• Electric Field Navigated 1-Hz rTMS for Poststroke Motor Recovery: The E-FIT Randomized Controlled Trial. Stroke. 2023 09; 54(9):2254-2264.. View in PubMed
• A review of neurophysiological effects and efficiency of waveform parameters in deep brain stimulation. Clin Neurophysiol. 2023 08; 152:93-111.. View in PubMed
• A C-shaped miniaturized coil for transcranial magnetic stimulation in rodents. J Neural Eng. 2023 03 24; 20(2).. View in PubMed
• Benchtop and bedside validation of a low-cost programmable cortical stimulator in a testbed for bi-directional brain-computer-interface research. Front Neurosci. 2022; 16:1075971.. View in PubMed
• Power Budget of a Skull Unit in a Fully-Implantable Brain-Computer Interface: Bio-Heat Model. IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng. 2023; 31:4029-4039.. View in PubMed
• Tissue Expanders in Staged Calvarial Reconstruction: A Systematic Review. Arch Plast Surg. 2022 Nov; 49(6):729-739.. View in PubMed
• Subthreshold repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation suppresses ketamine-induced poly population spikes in rat sensorimotor cortex. Front Neurosci. 2022; 16:998704.. View in PubMed
• Vagus Nerve Stimulation Paired With Rehabilitation for Upper Limb Motor Impairment and Function After Chronic Ischemic Stroke: Subgroup Analysis of the Randomized, Blinded, Pivotal, VNS-REHAB Device Trial. Neurorehabil Neural Repair. 2023 Jun; 37(6):367-373.. View in PubMed
• Artifact propagation in subdural cortical electrostimulation: Characterization and modeling. Front Neurosci. 2022; 16:1021097.. View in PubMed
• Vagus nerve stimulation paired with rehabilitation for stroke: Implantation experience from the VNS-REHAB trial. J Clin Neurosci. 2022 Nov; 105:122-128.. View in PubMed
• Baseline hippocampal beta band power is lower in the presence of movement uncertainty. J Neural Eng. 2022 07 22; 19(4).. View in PubMed
• Frequency-specific medial septal nucleus deep brain stimulation improves spatial memory in MK-801-treated male rats. Neurobiol Dis. 2022 08; 170:105756.. View in PubMed
• Altered adult neurogenesis and gliogenesis in patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy. Nat Neurosci. 2022 04; 25(4):493-503.. View in PubMed
• Ten-year safety of pluripotent stem cell transplantation in acute thoracic spinal cord injury. J Neurosurg Spine. 2022 Sep 01; 37(3):321-330.. View in PubMed
• Theta low-gamma phase amplitude coupling in the human orbitofrontal cortex increases during a conflict-processing task. J Neural Eng. 2022 02 16; 19(1).. View in PubMed
• Neuromodulation in Beta-Band Power Between Movement Execution and Inhibition in the Human Hippocampus. Neuromodulation. 2022 Feb; 25(2):232-244.. View in PubMed
• Gamified Dual-Task Training for Individuals with Parkinson Disease: An Exploratory Study on Feasibility, Safety, and Efficacy. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 11 25; 18(23).. View in PubMed
• Low Intensity Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Modulates Spontaneous Spiking Activities in Rat Cortex. Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2021 11; 2021:6318-6321.. View in PubMed
• A Fully-Integrated 1µW/Channel Dual-Mode Neural Data Acquisition System for Implantable Brain-Machine Interfaces. Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2021 11; 2021:5780-5783.. View in PubMed
• Neuropathological effects of chronically implanted, intracortical microelectrodes in a tetraplegic patient. J Neural Eng. 2021 07 27; 18(4).. View in PubMed
• Amygdaloid theta-band power increases during conflict processing in humans. J Clin Neurosci. 2021 Sep; 91:183-192.. View in PubMed
• Safety of direct injection of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells into the spinal cord of uninjured Göttingen minipigs. J Neurosurg Spine. 2021 09 01; 35(3):389-397.. View in PubMed
• Massively parallel functional photoacoustic computed tomography of the human brain. Nat Biomed Eng. 2022 05; 6(5):584-592.. View in PubMed
• Vagus nerve stimulation paired with rehabilitation for upper limb motor function after ischaemic stroke (VNS-REHAB): a randomised, blinded, pivotal, device trial. Lancet. 2021 04 24; 397(10284):1545-1553.. View in PubMed
• Hippocampal and Orbitofrontal Theta Band Coherence Diminishes During Conflict Resolution. World Neurosurg. 2021 08; 152:e32-e44.. View in PubMed
• Mapping of primary somatosensory cortex of the hand area using a high-density electrocorticography grid for closed-loop brain computer interface. J Neural Eng. 2021 03 04; 18(3).. View in PubMed
• A sparse multiscale nonlinear autoregressive model for seizure prediction. J Neural Eng. 2021 02 26; 18(2).. View in PubMed
• Gray Matter Atrophy: The Impacts of Resective Surgery and Vagus Nerve Stimulation in Drug-Resistant Epilepsy. World Neurosurg. 2021 05; 149:e535-e545.. View in PubMed
• Electromyogram (EMG) Removal by Adding Sources of EMG (ERASE)-A Novel ICA-Based Algorithm for Removing Myoelectric Artifacts From EEG. Front Neurosci. 2020; 14:597941.. View in PubMed
• Cognitive effects of theta frequency bilateral subthalamic nucleus stimulation in Parkinson’s disease: A pilot study. Brain Stimul. 2021 Mar-Apr; 14(2):230-240.. View in PubMed
• Deep Brain Stimulation for Alzheimer’s Disease: Tackling Circuit Dysfunction. Neuromodulation. 2021 Feb; 24(2):171-186.. View in PubMed
• The human primary somatosensory cortex encodes imagined movement in the absence of sensory information. Commun Biol. 2020 12 11; 3(1):757.. View in PubMed
• Refinement of High-Gamma EEG Features From TBI Patients With Hemicraniectomy Using an ICA Informed by Simulated Myoelectric Artifacts. Front Neurosci. 2020; 14:599010.. View in PubMed
• Beta-band modulation in the human hippocampus during a conflict response task. J Neural Eng. 2020 11 11; 17(6).. View in PubMed
• The effect of stroke on micturition associated brain activity: A pilot fMRI study. Neurourol Urodyn. 2020 11; 39(8):2198-2205.. View in PubMed
• Nine-year prospective efficacy and safety of brain-responsive neurostimulation for focal epilepsy. Neurology. 2020 09 01; 95(9):e1244-e1256.. View in PubMed
• Prospects of Photo- and Thermoacoustic Imaging in Neurosurgery. Neurosurgery. 2020 07 01; 87(1):11-24.. View in PubMed
• Thermal Analysis of a Skull Implant in Brain-Computer Interfaces. Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2020 07; 2020:3066-3069.. View in PubMed
• A Prototype of a Fully-Implantable Charge-Balanced Artificial Sensory Stimulator for Bi-directional Brain-Computer-Interface (BD-BCI). Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2020 07; 2020:3083-3085.. View in PubMed
• Gamma-band modulation in the human amygdala during reaching movements. Neurosurg Focus. 2020 07; 49(1):E4.. View in PubMed
• Pre-whitening and Null Projection as an Artifact Suppression Method for Electrocorticography Stimulation in Bi-Directional Brain Computer Interfaces. Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2020 07; 2020:3493-3496.. View in PubMed
• Beta-band power modulation in the human hippocampus during a reaching task. J Neural Eng. 2020 06 12; 17(3):036022.. View in PubMed
• Comparison of Intraoperative 3-Dimensional Fluoroscopy With Standard Computed Tomography for Stereotactic Frame Registration. Oper Neurosurg. 2020 06 01; 18(6):698-709.. View in PubMed
• Epidemiologic Assessment of Concussions in an NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Team. Orthop J Sports Med. 2020 May; 8(5):2325967120921746.. View in PubMed
• Optimal artifact suppression in simultaneous electrocorticography stimulation and recording for bi-directional brain-computer interface applications. J Neural Eng. 2020 04 29; 17(2):026038.. View in PubMed
• Utility and lower limits of frequency detection in surface electrode stimulation for somatosensory brain-computer interface in humans. Neurosurg Focus. 2020 02 01; 48(2):E2.. View in PubMed
• An Energy-Efficient CMOS Dual-Mode Array Architecture for High-Density ECoG-Based Brain-Machine Interfaces. IEEE Trans Biomed Circuits Syst. 2020 04; 14(2):332-342.. View in PubMed
• A benchtop system to assess the feasibility of a fully independent and implantable brain-machine interface. J Neural Eng. 2019 11 12; 16(6):066043.. View in PubMed
• Functional Frequency Discrimination From Cortical Somatosensory Stimulation in Humans. Front Neurosci. 2019; 13:832.. View in PubMed
• Clinical neuroprosthetics: Today and tomorrow. J Clin Neurosci. 2019 Oct; 68:13-19.. View in PubMed
• Directional tuning during reach planning in the supramarginal gyrus using local field potentials. J Clin Neurosci. 2019 Jun; 64:214-219.. View in PubMed
• Electrocorticographic changes in field potentials following natural somatosensory percepts in humans. Exp Brain Res. 2019 May; 237(5):1155-1167.. View in PubMed