Jason Kutch, PhD

Understanding brain and spinal cord networks controlling muscle fibers with neuroimaging, electrophysiology, and mathematical models; optimizing rehabilitation for restoring normal control of muscle in individuals with chronic pain.

• Individual differences in brain morphology and connectivity to identify the mechanisms of comorbidities and treatment-refractory disease in females with endometriosis-associated pelvic pain
  NIH · R01HD117775 · Aug 1, 2025 – Jul 31, 2028 · Role: Co-Principal Investigator
• Motor cortical neuromodulation in women with Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome: reducing pain by improving brain and muscle activity
  NIH · R01DK121724 · Aug 15, 2020 – Apr 30, 2025 · Role: Principal Investigator
• Sensorimotor impairments in men with Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome: relationship of resting state brain activity to pelvic floor muscle activation
  NIH · R01DK110669 · Feb 1, 2017 – Jan 31, 2022 · Role: Principal Investigator
• Multidisciplinary Approach to the Study of Chronic Pelvic Pain (MAPP) Research Network Discovery Site
  NIH · U01DK082370 · Sep 15, 2008 – Jun 30, 2022 · Role: Co-Principal Investigator
• Neuromechanics of Differential Motor Unit Activation in Multifunctional Muscles
  NIH · F31NS057855 · Feb 1, 2007 – Jan 31, 2010 · Role: Principal Investigator

• Association of widespread pain and peak alpha frequency cannot be isolated to a single network. Pain Rep. 2026 Jun; 11(3):e1436.. View in PubMed
• Widespread Pain Moderates the Response to Centrally-Acting Therapies in an Observational Cohort of Patients With Urologic Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome: A MAPP Research Network Study. Neurourol Urodyn. 2025 Aug; 44(6):1290-1295.. View in PubMed
• The Impact of Airflow and Multisensory Feedback on Immersion and Cybersickness in a VR Surfing Simulation. IEEE Trans Vis Comput Graph. 2025 May; 31(5):2445-2454.. View in PubMed
• Peak alpha frequency is related to the degree of widespread pain, but not pain intensity or duration, among people with urologic chronic pelvic pain syndrome. Pain Rep. 2025 Apr; 10(2):e1251.. View in PubMed
• Noninvasive brain stimulation beyond the motor cortex: a systematic review and meta-analysis exploring effects on quantitative sensory testing in clinical pain. Pain Med. 2025 Feb 01; 26(2):98-111.. View in PubMed
• Preparing the brain for pain: new insights and potential biomarkers. Pain. 2025 Jun 01; 166(6):1221-1222.. View in PubMed
• Brain predicted age in chronic pelvic pain: a study by the Multidisciplinary Approach to the Study of Chronic Pelvic Pain Research Network. Pain. 2025 May 01; 166(5):1060-1069.. View in PubMed
• Peak alpha frequency differs between chronic back pain and chronic widespread pain. Eur J Pain. 2025 Mar; 29(3):e4737.. View in PubMed
• Reducing pain by improving brain and muscle activity with motor cortical neuromodulation in women with interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome: a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials. 2024 Sep 12; 25(1):609.. View in PubMed
• Reply By Authors. J Urol. 2024 01; 211(1):122-123.. View in PubMed
• Naturalistic Bladder Filling Reveals Subtypes in Overactive Bladder Syndrome That Differentially Engages Urinary Urgency-Related Brain Circuits: Results From the Symptoms of Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction Research Network (LURN). J Urol. 2024 01; 211(1):111-123.. View in PubMed
• Neurobiology and long-term impact of bladder-filling pain in humans: a Multidisciplinary Approach to the Study of Chronic Pelvic Pain (MAPP) research network study. Pain. 2023 10 01; 164(10):2343-2351.. View in PubMed
• Reproducible Microstructural Changes in the Brain Associated With the Presence and Severity of Urologic Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (UCPPS): A 3-Year Longitudinal Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study From the MAPP Network. J Pain. 2023 04; 24(4):627-642.. View in PubMed
• Effects of a 12-Week Periodized Resistance Training Program on Resting Brain Activity and Cerebrovascular Function: A Nonrandomized Pilot Trial. Neurosci Insights. 2022; 17:26331055221119441.. View in PubMed
• Impaired Ability to Relax Pelvic Floor Muscles in Men With Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome. Phys Ther. 2022 07 04; 102(7).. View in PubMed
• Paired associative stimulation applied to the cortex can increase resting-state functional connectivity: A proof of principle study. Neurosci Lett. 2022 07 27; 784:136753.. View in PubMed
• Is Pelvic Floor Muscle Tenderness a Distinct Urologic Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome Phenotype? Findings from the Multidisciplinary Approach to the Study of Chronic Pelvic Pain Research Network Symptom Pattern Study. J Urol. 2022 08; 208(2):341-349.. View in PubMed
• Analytic consistency and neural correlates of peak alpha frequency in the study of pain. J Neurosci Methods. 2022 Feb 15; 368:109460.. View in PubMed
• Cerebral Perfusion and Sensory Testing Results Differ in Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome Patients with and without Fibromyalgia: A Site-Specific MAPP Network Study. J Pain Res. 2021; 14:3887-3895.. View in PubMed
• Evidence for increased neuromuscular drive following spinal manipulation in individuals with subacromial pain syndrome. Clin Biomech (Bristol). 2021 12; 90:105485.. View in PubMed
• 12 weeks of strength training improves fluid cognition in older adults: A nonrandomized pilot trial. PLoS One. 2021; 16(7):e0255018.. View in PubMed
• Corticomotor excitability of gluteus maximus and hip extensor strength: The influence of sex. Hum Mov Sci. 2021 Aug; 78:102830.. View in PubMed
• Individuals with recurrent low back pain exhibit further altered frontal plane trunk control in remission than when in pain. Clin Biomech (Bristol). 2021 07; 87:105391.. View in PubMed
• Natural bladder filling alters resting brain function at multiple spatial scales: a proof-of-concept MAPP Network Neuroimaging Study. Sci Rep. 2020 11 16; 10(1):19901.. View in PubMed
• Sensitivity of functional connectivity to periaqueductal gray localization, with implications for identifying disease-related changes in chronic visceral pain: A MAPP Research Network neuroimaging study. Neuroimage Clin. 2020; 28:102443.. View in PubMed
• The probability of choosing both hands depends on an interaction between motor capacity and limb-specific control in chronic stroke. Exp Brain Res. 2020 Nov; 238(11):2569-2579.. View in PubMed
• Salience network functional connectivity is spatially heterogeneous across sensorimotor cortex in healthy humans. Neuroimage. 2020 11 01; 221:117177.. View in PubMed
• The Multidisciplinary Approach to The Study of Chronic Pelvic Pain (MAPP) Research Network*: Design and implementation of the Symptom Patterns Study (SPS). Neurourol Urodyn. 2020 08; 39(6):1803-1814.. View in PubMed
• When 90% of the variance is not enough: residual EMG from muscle synergy extraction influences task performance. J Neurophysiol. 2020 06 01; 123(6):2180-2190.. View in PubMed
• Relationship between Interhemispheric Inhibition and Dexterous Hand Performance in Musicians and Non-musicians. Sci Rep. 2019 08 09; 9(1):11574.. View in PubMed
• Impact of early adverse life events and sex on functional brain networks in patients with urological chronic pelvic pain syndrome (UCPPS): A MAPP Research Network study. PLoS One. 2019; 14(6):e0217610.. View in PubMed
• Motor cortical neuromodulation of pelvic floor muscle tone: Potential implications for the treatment of urologic conditions. Neurourol Urodyn. 2019 08; 38(6):1517-1523.. View in PubMed
• Urologic chronic pelvic pain syndrome: insights from the MAPP Research Network. Nat Rev Urol. 2019 03; 16(3):187-200.. View in PubMed
• Changes in brain white matter structure are associated with urine proteins in urologic chronic pelvic pain syndrome (UCPPS): A MAPP Network study. PLoS One. 2018; 13(12):e0206807.. View in PubMed
• Distributed representation of pelvic floor muscles in human motor cortex. Sci Rep. 2018 05 08; 8(1):7213.. View in PubMed
• Brain signature and functional impact of centralized pain: a multidisciplinary approach to the study of chronic pelvic pain (MAPP) network study. Pain. 2017 Oct; 158(10):1979-1991.. View in PubMed
• The motor cortical representation of a muscle is not homogeneous in brain connectivity. Exp Brain Res. 2017 09; 235(9):2767-2776.. View in PubMed
• Resting-state functional connectivity predicts longitudinal pain symptom change in urologic chronic pelvic pain syndrome: a MAPP network study. Pain. 2017 06; 158(6):1069-1082.. View in PubMed
• Using Contingent Reinforcement to Augment Muscle Activation After Perinatal Brachial Plexus Injury: A Pilot Study. Phys Occup Ther Pediatr. 2017 Oct 20; 37(5):555-565.. View in PubMed
• Beta Band Corticomuscular Drive Reflects Muscle Coordination Strategies. Front Comput Neurosci. 2017; 11:17.. View in PubMed
• Cortical activity predicts good variation in human motor output. Exp Brain Res. 2017 04; 235(4):1139-1147.. View in PubMed
• Brain white matter changes associated with urological chronic pelvic pain syndrome: multisite neuroimaging from a MAPP case-control study. Pain. 2016 12; 157(12):2782-2791.. View in PubMed
• Altered brain connectivity in dysmenorrhea: pain modulation and the motor cortex. Pain. 2016 Jan; 157(1):5-6.. View in PubMed
• Brain Connectivity Associated with Muscle Synergies in Humans. J Neurosci. 2015 Nov 04; 35(44):14708-16.. View in PubMed
• Unique Microstructural Changes in the Brain Associated with Urological Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (UCPPS) Revealed by Diffusion Tensor MRI, Super-Resolution Track Density Imaging, and Statistical Parameter Mapping: A MAPP Network Neuroimaging Study. PLoS One. 2015; 10(10):e0140250.. View in PubMed
• Altered resting state neuromotor connectivity in men with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome: A MAPP: Research Network Neuroimaging Study. Neuroimage Clin. 2015; 8:493-502.. View in PubMed
• Reliability of superficial male pelvic floor structural measurements using linear-array transperineal sonography. Ultrasound Med Biol. 2015 Feb; 41(2):610-7.. View in PubMed
• Cortical activation associated with muscle synergies of the human male pelvic floor. J Neurosci. 2014 Oct 08; 34(41):13811-8.. View in PubMed
• Alterations in resting state oscillations and connectivity in sensory and motor networks in women with interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome. J Urol. 2014 Sep; 192(3):947-55.. View in PubMed
• Decrease in muscle contraction time complements neural maturation in the development of dynamic manipulation. J Neurosci. 2013 Sep 18; 33(38):15050-5.. View in PubMed
• Transperineal Sonography Evaluation of Muscles and Vascularity in the Male Pelvic Floor. J Diagn Med Sonogr. 2013 Jan; 29(1):3-10.. View in PubMed
• A Novel Synthesis of Computational Approaches Enables Optimization of Grasp Quality of Tendon-Driven Hands. IEEE Trans Robot. 2012 Aug; 28(4):958-966.. View in PubMed
• Challenges and new approaches to proving the existence of muscle synergies of neural origin. PLoS Comput Biol. 2012; 8(5):e1002434.. View in PubMed
• Muscle redundancy does not imply robustness to muscle dysfunction. J Biomech. 2011 Apr 29; 44(7):1264-70.. View in PubMed
• Extraction of individual muscle mechanical action from endpoint force. J Neurophysiol. 2010 Jun; 103(6):3535-46.. View in PubMed
• Computational hypothesis testing for neuromuscular systems. Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2010; 2010:5436-9.. View in PubMed
• Computational Models for Neuromuscular Function. IEEE Rev Biomed Eng. 2009; 2:110-135.. View in PubMed
• Endpoint force fluctuations reveal flexible rather than synergistic patterns of muscle cooperation. J Neurophysiol. 2008 Nov; 100(5):2455-71.. View in PubMed
• Analysis of the effects of firing rate and synchronization on spike-triggered averaging of multidirectional motor unit torque. J Comput Neurosci. 2007 Jun; 22(3):347-61.. View in PubMed
• Human elbow joint torque is linearly encoded in electromyographic signals from multiple muscles. Neurosci Lett. 2001 Sep 28; 311(2):97-100.. View in PubMed