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

• 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 Apr 04. . 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 Feb; 211(2):304. . 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 Feb; 211(2):294-304. . View in PubMed
• Primary somatosensory cortex organization for engineering artificial somatosensation Neurosci Res. 2024 Jan 24. . 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
• Stereotactic Frame-Based Electrode Insertion: The Accuracy of Increasingly Oblique Insertion Angles Turk Neurosurg. 2024; 34(1):128-134. . 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
• 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
• 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
• Tissue Expanders in Staged Calvarial Reconstruction: A Systematic Review Arch Plast Surg. 2022 Nov; 49(6):729-739. . 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
• 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
• Massively parallel functional photoacoustic computed tomography of the human brain Nat Biomed Eng. 2022 05; 6(5):584-592. . 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
• Subthreshold repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation suppresses ketamine-induced poly population spikes in rat sensorimotor cortex Front Neurosci. 2022; 16:998704. . 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
• Baseline hippocampal beta band power is lower in the presence of movement uncertainty J Neural Eng. 2022 07 22; 19(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
• 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
• Hippocampal and Orbitofrontal Theta Band Coherence Diminishes During Conflict Resolution World Neurosurg. 2021 08; 152:e32-e44. . 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
• 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
• 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
• Neuropathological effects of chronically implanted, intracortical microelectrodes in a tetraplegic patient J Neural Eng. 2021 07 27; 18(4). . View in PubMed
• A sparse multiscale nonlinear autoregressive model for seizure prediction J Neural Eng. 2021 02 26; 18(2). . 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
• 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
• The effect of stroke on micturition associated brain activity: A pilot fMRI study Neurourol Urodyn. 2020 11; 39(8):2198-2205. . 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
• Comparison of Intraoperative 3-Dimensional Fluoroscopy With Standard Computed Tomography for Stereotactic Frame Registration Oper Neurosurg (Hagerstown). 2020 06 01; 18(6):698-709. . 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
• Beta-band power modulation in the human hippocampus during a reaching task J Neural Eng. 2020 06 12; 17(3):036022. . View in PubMed
• Prospects of Photo- and Thermoacoustic Imaging in Neurosurgery Neurosurgery. 2020 07 01; 87(1):11-24. . 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
• 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
• Technical considerations for generating somatosensation via cortical stimulation in a closed-loop sensory/motor brain-computer interface system in humans J Clin Neurosci. 2019 May; 63:116-121. . View in PubMed
• Functional Frequency Discrimination From Cortical Somatosensory Stimulation in Humans Front Neurosci. 2019; 13:832. . View in PubMed
• Randomized Sham-Controlled Trial of Navigated Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Motor Recovery in Stroke Stroke. 2018 09; 49(9):2138-2146. . View in PubMed
• Proprioceptive and cutaneous sensations in humans elicited by intracortical microstimulation Elife. 2018 04 10; 7. . View in PubMed
• The Weekend Effect on Morbidity and Mortality Among Pediatric Epilepsy AdmissionsPediatr Neurol. 2017 Sep; 74:24-31. e1. . View in PubMed
• Preventable complications in epilepsy admissions: The “July effect” Epilepsy Res. 2017 11; 137:101-106. . View in PubMed
• Potentially preventable complications in epilepsy admissions: The “weekend effect” Epilepsy Behav. 2017 05; 70(Pt A):50-56. . View in PubMed
• Interplay between Cortical Spreading Depolarization and Seizures Stereotact Funct Neurosurg. 2017; 95(1):1-5. . View in PubMed
• Atypical central neurocytoma with metastatic craniospinal dissemination: a case report Clin Imaging. 2016 Nov – Dec; 40(6):1108-1111. . View in PubMed
• Introduction: Neurorestoration: re-animating the CNS Neurosurg Focus. 2016 May; 40(5):E1. . View in PubMed
• Cortical spreading depolarization: Pathophysiology, implications, and future directions J Clin Neurosci. 2016 Feb; 24:22-7. . View in PubMed
• The Clinical Neurosciences: Evolution, Opportunities and a Forum for Communication J Clin Neurosci. 2016 07; 29:1-2. . View in PubMed
• Rational Approach to Understanding and Preventing Sports-Related Traumatic Brain Injuries World Neurosurg. 2015 Dec; 84(6):1556-7. . View in PubMed
• Magnetic Resonance Therapy Improves Clinical Phenotype and EEG Alpha Power in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Trauma Mon. 2015 Nov; 20(4):e27360. . View in PubMed
• The importance of preoperative diagnosis of blister aneurysms J Clin Neurosci. 2015 Sep; 22(9):1408-12. . View in PubMed
• A Single-Center Experience with the NeuroPace RNS System: A Review of Techniques and Potential Problems World Neurosurg. 2015 Sep; 84(3):719-26. . View in PubMed
• The Congress of Neurological Surgeons International Division 2014 Neurosurgery. 2015 Aug; 62 Suppl 1:79-80. . View in PubMed
• An in vitro seizure model from human hippocampal slices using multi-electrode arrays J Neurosci Methods. 2015 Apr 15; 244:154-63. . View in PubMed
• Neurosurgery: expanding relevance in the evolution of medicine? World Neurosurg. 2014 Dec; 82(6):955-7.. View in PubMed
• Recapitulating flesh with silicon and steel: advancements in upper extremity robotic prosthetics World Neurosurg. 2014 May-Jun; 81(5-6):730-41. . View in PubMed
• Supplementing the neurosurgical virtuoso: evolution of automation from mythology to operating room adjunct World Neurosurg. 2014 May-Jun; 81(5-6):719-29. . View in PubMed
• Computed tomography for clearance of cervical spine injury in the unevaluable patient World Neurosurg. 2013 Sep-Oct; 80(3-4):405-13. . View in PubMed
• Surgery of the mind, mood, and conscious state: an idea in evolution World Neurosurg. 2013 Sep-Oct; 80(3-4):S2-26. . View in PubMed
• A primer on brain-machine interfaces, concepts, and technology: a key element in the future of functional neurorestoration World Neurosurg. 2013 Mar-Apr; 79(3-4):457-71. . View in PubMed
• A Bosphorus submarine passage and the reinvention of neurosurgery World Neurosurg. 2013 Jan; 79(1):40-52. . View in PubMed
• The use of nanoparticles as contrast media in neuroimaging: a statement on toxicity World Neurosurg. 2012 Dec; 78(6):709-11. . View in PubMed
• Quantum computing: a prime modality in neurosurgery’s future World Neurosurg. 2012 Nov; 78(5):404-8. . View in PubMed
• Surgery of the mind, mood, and conscious state: an idea in evolution World Neurosurg. 2012 May-Jun; 77(5-6):662-86. . View in PubMed
• The neurosurgeon “Academician” in China World Neurosurg. 2012 Feb; 77(2):219. . View in PubMed
• Spatio-temporal inter-ictal activity recorded from human epileptic hippocampal slices Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2012; 2012:5166-9. . View in PubMed
• Man, mind, and machine: the past and future of virtual reality simulation in neurologic surgery World Neurosurg. 2011 Nov; 76(5):419-30. . View in PubMed
• Cerebral arteriovenous malformations: issues of the interplay between stereotactic radiosurgery and endovascular surgical therapy World Neurosurg. 2011 May-Jun; 75(5-6):638-47. . View in PubMed
• Visualizing the future: enhancing neuroimaging with nanotechnology World Neurosurg. 2011 May-Jun; 75(5-6):626-37; discussion 618-9. . View in PubMed
• Thrombospondin-1 modulates the angiogenic phenotype of human cerebral arteriovenous malformation endothelial cells Neurosurgery. 2011 May; 68(5):1342-53; discussion 1353. . View in PubMed
• The Terra Cotta Army of Qin Shi Huang World Neurosurg. 2011 Mar-Apr; 75(3-4):352-3. . View in PubMed
• The role of stereotactic radiosurgery in the multimodal management of growth hormone-secreting pituitary adenomas Neurosurg Focus. 2010 Oct; 29(4):E11. . View in PubMed
• A radiographic computed tomography-based study to determine the ideal entry point, trajectory, and length for safe fixation using C-2 pars interarticularis screws J Neurosurg Spine. 2010 Jun; 12(6):602-12. . View in PubMed
• From atom to brain: applications of molecular imaging to neurosurgery World Neurosurg. 2010 May; 73(5):477-85. . View in PubMed
• Molecular imaging, part 1: apertures into the landscape of genomic medicine World Neurosurg. 2010 Apr; 73(4):307-16. . View in PubMed
• Postoperative continuous paravertebral anesthetic infusion for pain control in posterior cervical spine surgery: a case-control study Neurosurgery. 2010 Mar; 66(3 Suppl Operative):99-106; discussion 106-7. . View in PubMed
• Biological restoration of central nervous system architecture and function: part 3-stem cell- and cell-based applications and realities in the biological management of central nervous system disorders: traumatic, vascular, and epilepsy disorders Neurosurgery. 2009 Nov; 65(5):831-59; discussion 859. . View in PubMed
• Neurosurgery and quantum dots: part I–state of the art Neurosurgery. 2009 Jun; 64(6):1015-27; discussion 1027-8. . View in PubMed
• The metamorphosis of neurological surgery and the reinvention of the neurosurgeon Neurosurgery. 2009 May; 64(5):788-94; discussion 794-5. . View in PubMed
• Fenestrated aneurysm clips in the surgical management of anterior communicating artery aneurysms: operative techniques and strategyClinical article. Neurosurg Focus. 2009 May; 26(5):E7. . View in PubMed
• The biological restoration of central nervous system architecture and function: part 2-emergence of the realization of adult neurogenesis Neurosurgery. 2009 Apr; 64(4):581-60; discussion 600-1. . View in PubMed
• The biological restoration of central nervous system architecture and function: part 1-foundations and historical landmarks in contemporary stem cell biology Neurosurgery. 2009 Jan; 64(1):15-39; discussion 34. . View in PubMed
• Aberrant angiogenic characteristics of human brain arteriovenous malformation endothelial cells Neurosurgery. 2009 Jan; 64(1):139-46; discussion 146-8. . View in PubMed
• The alchemy of ideas Neurosurgery. 2008 Dec; 63(6):1035-44; discussion 1044. . View in PubMed
• Internal carotid artery aneurysms occurring at the origin of fetal variant posterior cerebral arteries: surgical and endovascular experience Neurosurgery. 2008 Jul; 63(1 Suppl 1):ONS55-61; discussion ONS61-2. . View in PubMed
• Surgery of the mind and mood: a mosaic of issues in time and evolution Neurosurgery. 2008 Jun; 62(6 Suppl 3):921-40. . View in PubMed
• The future of cerebral surgery: a kaleidoscope of opportunities Neurosurgery. 2008 Jun; 62(6 Suppl 3):1555-79; discussion 1579-82. . View in PubMed
• Novel use of an endovascular embolectomy device for retrograde suction decompression-assisted clip ligation of a large paraclinoid aneurysm: technical case report Neurosurgery. 2008 May; 62(5 Suppl 2):ONSE412-3; discussion ONSE413-4. . View in PubMed
• Vagus nerve stimulation therapy after failed cranial surgery for intractable epilepsy: results from the vagus nerve stimulation therapy patient outcome registry Neurosurgery. 2008 Feb; 62 Suppl 2:506-13. . View in PubMed
• Neurosurgery in the realm of 10(-9), Part 2: applications of nanotechnology to neurosurgery–present and future Neurosurgery. 2008 Feb; 62(2):269-84; discussion 284-5. . View in PubMed
• Alexander NKonovalov: neurosurgeon, leader, mentor. Neurosurgery. 2008 Jan; 62(1):249-53; discussion 253-5. . View in PubMed
• Neurosurgery in the realm of 10(-9), part 1: stardust and nanotechnology in neuroscience Neurosurgery. 2008 Jan; 62(1):1-20. . View in PubMed
• Chained lightning: part III–Emerging technology, novel therapeutic strategies, and new energy modalities for radiosurgery Neurosurgery. 2007 Dec; 61(6):1111-29; discussion 1129-30. . View in PubMed
• Chained lightning, part II: neurosurgical principles, radiosurgical technology, and the manipulation of energy beam delivery Neurosurgery. 2007 Sep; 61(3):433-46; discussion 446. . View in PubMed
• Chained lightning, part I: Exploitation of energy and radiobiological principles for therapeutic purposes Neurosurgery. 2007 Jul; 61(1):14-27; discussion 27-8. . View in PubMed
• Surgery of the human cerebrum–a collective modernity Neurosurgery. 2007 Jul; 61(1 Suppl):28; discussion 28-31. . View in PubMed
• Recognition and management of delayed hyponatremia following transsphenoidal pituitary surgery J Neurosurg. 2007 Jan; 106(1):66-71. . View in PubMed
• Stereotactic radiosurgery: adjacent tissue injury and response after high-dose single fraction radiation: Part I–Histology, imaging, and molecular events Neurosurgery. 2007 Jan; 60(1):31-44; discussion 44-5. . View in PubMed
• Surgery of the mind and mood: a mosaic of issues in time and evolution Neurosurgery. 2006 Oct; 59(4):720-33; discussion 733-9. . View in PubMed
• Toward the emergence of nanoneurosurgery: part III–nanomedicine: targeted nanotherapy, nanosurgery, and progress toward the realization of nanoneurosurgery Neurosurgery. 2006 Jun; 58(6):1009-26; discussion 1009-26. . View in PubMed
• Toward the emergence of nanoneurosurgery: part II–nanomedicine: diagnostics and imaging at the nanoscale level Neurosurgery. 2006 May; 58(5):805-23; discussion 805-23. . View in PubMed
• Toward the emergence of nanoneurosurgery: part I–progress in nanoscience, nanotechnology, and the comprehension of events in the mesoscale realm Neurosurgery. 2005 Oct; 57(4):606-34; discussion 606-34. . View in PubMed
• Vector analysis correlating bullet trajectory to outcome after civilian through-and-through gunshot wound to the head: using imaging cues to predict fatal outcome Neurosurgery. 2005 Oct; 57(4):737-47; discussion 737-47. . View in PubMed
• Cellular signaling in neural stem cells: implications for restorative neurosurgery Neurosurg Focus. 2005 Sep 15; 19(3):E2. . View in PubMed
• Resorbable polylactic acid interbody spacers with vertebral autograft for anterior cervical discectomy and fusion Neurosurgery. 2005 Jul; 57(1):135-40; discussion 135-40. . View in PubMed
• Vagus nerve stimulation therapy after failed cranial surgery for intractable epilepsy: results from the vagus nerve stimulation therapy patient outcome registry Neurosurgery. 2004 Nov; 55(5):1086-93. . View in PubMed
• The physics of image formation in the neuroendoscope Childs Nerv Syst. 2004 Nov; 20(11-12):777-82. . View in PubMed
• The evolution and future of minimalism in neurological surgery Childs Nerv Syst. 2004 Nov; 20(11-12):783-9. . View in PubMed
• Reliability of three-dimensional fluoroscopy for detecting pedicle screw violations in the thoracic and lumbar spine Neurosurgery. 2004 May; 54(5):1138-42; discussion 1142-3. . View in PubMed
• Foundations of neurological surgery: the state of the journal and documentation of surgical methods Clin Neurosurg. 2004; 51:67-9. . View in PubMed
• Artificial niches for human adult neural stem cells: possibility for autologous transplantation therapy J Hematother Stem Cell Res. 2003 Dec; 12(6):689-99. . View in PubMed
• Engineering of the extracellular matrix: working toward neural stem cell programming and neurorestoration–concept and progress report Neurosurgery. 2003 May; 52(5):1154-65; discussion 1165-7. . View in PubMed
• The genesis of neurosurgery and the evolution of the neurosurgical operative environment: part I-prehistory to 2003 Neurosurgery. 2003 Jan; 52(1):3-19; discussion 19. . View in PubMed
• The genesis of neurosurgery and the evolution of the neurosurgical operative environment: part II–concepts for future development, 2003 and beyond Neurosurgery. 2003 Jan; 52(1):20-33; discussion 33-5. . View in PubMed
• Clin Neurosurg. 2002; 49:159-87. . View in PubMed
• Honored guest presentation: surgery of the human cerebrum: a collective modernity Clin Neurosurg. 2002; 49:27-89. . View in PubMed

• Zada, Gabriel
• Winstein, Carolee
• Demetriades, Demetrios
• Toga, Arthur
• Russin, Jonathan
• Mack, William
• Cohen-Gadol, Aaron