Linda Chao, PhD
Professor
Radiology
School of Medicine

For the past 11-years, she has served as leader for the Psychiatry Block of the Interdepartmental Studies course 104, Brain, Mind and Behavior for first-year medical students.

Dr. Chao’s professional activities primarily consist of conducting basic research using neuropsychological and imaging techniques to characterize how normal aging, neurodegenerative processes, stress, and exposure to neurotoxins affect the brain and cognition. She has an ongoing project, funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs, that seeks to use cognitive tests, structural, and diffusion tensor imaging to examine the effects of low-level exposure to sarin on brain structure and brain function in Gulf War Veterans. Dr. Chao has another project that is funded by the US Army Military Operational Medicine Research Program. The purpose of this project is to investigate the links between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and dementia.

Dr. Chao serves as an Academic Editor for PlosOne and she has previously served as a reviewer for 26 scientific journals. Dr. Chao has 25 published articles and she has written 58 abstracts, 44 peer-reviewed articles, and 5 significant publications resulting from her research.

Expertise: Neuroscience

Specialty: Brain, neurodegenerative process, neuropsychological and imaging techniques

Professional Interests: Cognitive neuroscience, memory, attention, aging, neurodegenerative disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, magnetic resonance imaging, spectroscopic imaging, functional magnetic resonance imaging

Education and Training:

• Bachelor of Science: University of California, Davis - Biological Science
• Doctor of Philosophy: University of California, Davis - Neuroscience

• Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia in veterans with gulf war illness: Results from a randomized controlled trial.
  Life sciences 2021 Chao LL, Kanady JC, Crocker N, Straus LD, Hlavin J, Metzler TJ, Maguen S, Neylan TC
• Transcranial Photobiomodulation to Improve Cognition in Gulf War Illness.
  Frontiers in neurology 2021 Martin PI, Chao L, Krengel MH, Ho MD, Yee M, Lew R, Knight J, Hamblin MR, Naeser MA
• Preventing Loss of Independence through Exercise (PLIÉ): A Pilot Trial in Older Adults with Subjective Memory Decline and Mild Cognitive Impairment.
  Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD 2021 Chao LL, Lee JA, Martinez S, Barlow C, Chesney MA, Mehling WE, Barnes DE
• The Prevalence of Mild Cognitive Impairment in a Convenience Sample of 202 Gulf War Veterans.
  International journal of environmental research and public health 2020 Chao LL
• Changes in Brain Function and Structure After Self-Administered Home Photobiomodulation Treatment in a Concussion Case.
  Frontiers in neurology 2020 Chao LL, Barlow C, Karimpoor M, Lim L
• Improvements in Gulf War Illness Symptoms After Near-Infrared Transcranial and Intranasal Photobiomodulation: Two Case Reports.
  Military medicine 2019 Chao LL
• Do Gulf War veterans with high levels of deployment-related exposures display symptoms suggestive of Parkinson’s disease?
  International journal of occupational medicine and environmental health 2019 Chao L.
• Effects of Home Photobiomodulation Treatments on Cognitive and Behavioral Function, Cerebral Perfusion, and Resting-State Functional Connectivity in Patients with Dementia: A Pilot Trial.
  Photobiomodulation, photomedicine, and laser surgery 2019 Chao LL
• Child abuse interacts with hippocampal and corpus callosum volume on psychophysiological response to startling auditory stimuli in a sample of veterans.
  Journal of psychiatric research 2019 Young DA, Neylan TC, Chao LL, O'Donovan A, Metzler TJ, Inslicht SS
• The Relationship Between Traumatic Brain Injury and Rates of Chronic Symptomatic Illness in 202 Gulf War Veterans.
  Military medicine 2018 Chao LL
• Association among anterior cingulate cortex volume, psychophysiological response, and PTSD diagnosis in a Veteran sample.
  Neurobiology of learning and memory 2018 Young DA, Chao L, Neylan TC, O'Donovan A, Metzler TJ, Inslicht SS
• Effects of low-level sarin and cyclosarin exposure on hippocampal microstructure in Gulf War Veterans.
  Neurotoxicology and teratology 2018 Chao LL, Zhang Y
• Evidence of Hippocampal Structural Alterations in Gulf War Veterans With Predicted Exposure to the Khamisiyah Plume.
  Journal of occupational and environmental medicine 2017 Chao LL, Raymond MR, Leo CK, Abadjian LR
• Triglycerides are negatively correlated with cognitive function in nondemented aging adults.
  Neuropsychology 2017 Parthasarathy V, Frazier DT, Bettcher BM, Jastrzab L, Chao L, Reed B, Mungas D, Weiner M, DeCarli C, Chui H, Kramer JH
• Evidence of Objective Memory Impairments in Deployed Gulf War Veterans With Subjective Memory Complaints.
  Military medicine 2017 Chao LL
• Associations Between the Self-Reported Frequency of Hearing Chemical Alarms in Theater and Visuospatial Function in Gulf War Veterans.
  Journal of occupational and environmental medicine 2016 Chao LL
• Insomnia Severity, Subjective Sleep Quality, and Risk for Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Veterans With Gulf War Illness.
  Military medicine 2016 Chao LL, Abadjian LR, Esparza IL, Reeb R
• Associations between the self-reported frequency of hearing chemical alarms in theater and regional brain volume in Gulf War Veterans.
  Neurotoxicology 2016 Chao LL, Reeb R, Esparza IL, Abadjian LR
• Preliminary Evidence of Increased Hippocampal Myelin Content in Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.
  Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience 2015 Chao LL, Tosun D, Woodward SH, Kaufer D, Neylan TC
• Effects of low-level sarin and cyclosarin exposure on white matter integrity in Gulf War Veterans.
  Neurotoxicology 2015 Chao LL, Zhang Y, Buckley S
• Towards Constructing a New Taxonomy for Psychiatry Using Self-reported Symptoms.
  Studies in health technology and informatics 2015 Ross J, Neylan T, Weiner M, Chao L, Samuelson K, Sim I
• The role of carotid intima-media thickness in predicting longitudinal cognitive function in an older adult cohort.
  Cerebrovascular diseases (Basel, Switzerland) 2014 Frazier DT, Seider T, Bettcher BM, Mack WJ, Jastrzab L, Chao L, Weiner MW, DeCarli C, Reed BR, Mungas D, Chui HC, Kramer JH
• Altered inflammatory activity associated with reduced hippocampal volume and more severe posttraumatic stress symptoms in Gulf War veterans.
  Psychoneuroendocrinology 2014 O'Donovan A, Chao LL, Paulson J, Samuelson KW, Shigenaga JK, Grunfeld C, Weiner MW, Neylan TC
• Effects of low-level sarin and cyclosarin exposure on hippocampal subfields in Gulf War Veterans.
  Neurotoxicology 2014 Chao LL, Kriger S, Buckley S, Ng P, Mueller SG
• Are hippocampal size differences in posttraumatic stress disorder mediated by sleep pathology?
  Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association 2014 Mohlenhoff BS, Chao LL, Buckley ST, Weiner MW, Neylan TC
• Hippocampal volume is inversely related to PTSD duration.
  Psychiatry research 2014 Chao LL, Yaffe K, Samuelson K, Neylan TC
• Associations between subjective sleep quality and brain volume in Gulf War veterans.
  Sleep 2014 Chao LL, Mohlenhoff BS, Weiner MW, Neylan TC
• Regional cerebral volumes in veterans with current versus remitted posttraumatic stress disorder.
  Psychiatry research 2013 Chao L, Weiner M, Neylan T
• Associations between white matter hyperintensities and β amyloid on integrity of projection, association, and limbic fiber tracts measured with diffusion tensor MRI.
  PloS one 2013 Chao LL, Decarli C, Kriger S, Truran D, Zhang Y, Laxamana J, Villeneuve S, Jagust WJ, Sanossian N, Mack WJ, Chui HC, Weiner MW
• MRI markers for mild cognitive impairment: comparisons between white matter integrity and gray matter volume measurements.
  PloS one 2013 Zhang Y, Schuff N, Camacho M, Chao LL, Fletcher TP, Yaffe K, Woolley SC, Madison C, Rosen HJ, Miller BL, Weiner MW
• Voxel-wise co-analysis of macro- and microstructural brain alteration in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease using anatomical and diffusion MRI.
  Journal of neuroimaging : official journal of the American Society of Neuroimaging 2013 Cardenas VA, Tosun D, Chao LL, Fletcher PT, Joshi S, Weiner MW, Schuff N
• Associations among vascular risk factors, carotid atherosclerosis, and cortical volume and thickness in older adults.
  Stroke 2012 Cardenas VA, Reed B, Chao LL, Chui H, Sanossian N, DeCarli CC, Mack W, Kramer J, Hodis HN, Yan M, Buonocore MH, Carmichael O, Jagust WJ, Weiner MW
• Effects of post-traumatic stress disorder on occipital lobe function and structure.
  Neuroreport 2012 Chao LL, Lenoci M, Neylan TC
• Effects of low-level sarin and cyclosarin exposure and Gulf War Illness on brain structure and function: a study at 4T.
  Neurotoxicology 2011 Chao LL, Abadjian L, Hlavin J, Meyerhoff DJ, Weiner MW
• Evidence for functional specialization of hippocampal subfields detected by MR subfield volumetry on high resolution images at 4 T.
  NeuroImage 2011 Mueller SG, Chao LL, Berman B, Weiner MW
• Effects of low-level exposure to sarin and cyclosarin during the 1991 Gulf War on brain function and brain structure in US veterans.
  Neurotoxicology 2010 Chao LL, Rothlind JC, Cardenas VA, Meyerhoff DJ, Weiner MW
• ASL perfusion MRI predicts cognitive decline and conversion from MCI to dementia.
  Alzheimer disease and associated disorders 2010 Chao LL, Buckley ST, Kornak J, Schuff N, Madison C, Yaffe K, Miller BL, Kramer JH, Weiner MW
• Evidence for ongoing brain injury in human immunodeficiency virus-positive patients treated with antiretroviral therapy.
  Journal of neurovirology 2009 Cardenas VA, Meyerhoff DJ, Studholme C, Kornak J, Rothlind J, Lampiris H, Neuhaus J, Grant RM, Chao LL, Truran D, Weiner MW
• Patterns of cerebral hypoperfusion in amnestic and dysexecutive MCI.
  Alzheimer disease and associated disorders 2009 Chao LL, Pa J, Duarte A, Schuff N, Weiner MW, Kramer JH, Miller BL, Freeman KM, Johnson JK
• Brain atrophy associated with baseline and longitudinal measures of cognition.
  Neurobiology of aging 2009 Cardenas VA, Chao LL, Studholme C, Yaffe K, Miller BL, Madison C, Buckley ST, Mungas D, Schuff N, Weiner MW
• Clinical-neuroimaging characteristics of dysexecutive mild cognitive impairment.
  Annals of neurology 2009 Pa J, Boxer A, Chao LL, Gazzaley A, Freeman K, Kramer J, Miller BL, Weiner MW, Neuhaus J, Johnson JK
• Evidence of neurodegeneration in brains of older adults who do not yet fulfill MCI criteria.
  Neurobiology of aging 2008 Chao LL, Mueller SG, Buckley ST, Peek K, Raptentsetseng S, Elman J, Yaffe K, Miller BL, Kramer JH, Madison C, Mungas D, Schuff N, Weiner MW
• Patterns of white matter atrophy in frontotemporal lobar degeneration.
  Archives of neurology 2007 Chao LL, Schuff N, Clevenger EM, Mueller SG, Rosen HJ, Gorno-Tempini ML, Kramer JH, Miller BL, Weiner MW
• Deformation-based morphometry reveals brain atrophy in frontotemporal dementia.
  Archives of neurology 2007 Cardenas VA, Boxer AL, Chao LL, Gorno-Tempini ML, Miller BL, Weiner MW, Studholme C
• N-acetylaspartate as a marker of neuronal injury in neurodegenerative disease.
  Advances in experimental medicine and biology 2006 Schuff N, Meyerhoff DJ, Mueller S, Chao L, Sacrey DT, Laxer K, Weiner MW
• Using automated morphometry to detect associations between ERP latency and structural brain MRI in normal adults.
  Human brain mapping 2005 Cardenas VA, Chao LL, Blumenfeld R, Song E, Meyerhoff DJ, Weiner MW, Studholme C
• Age effects on atrophy rates of entorhinal cortex and hippocampus.
  Neurobiology of aging 2005 Du AT, Schuff N, Chao LL, Kornak J, Jagust WJ, Kramer JH, Reed BR, Miller BL, Norman D, Chui HC, Weiner MW
• White matter lesions are associated with cortical atrophy more than entorhinal and hippocampal atrophy.
  Neurobiology of aging 2005 Du AT, Schuff N, Chao LL, Kornak J, Ezekiel F, Jagust WJ, Kramer JH, Reed BR, Miller BL, Norman D, Chui HC, Weiner MW
• Reduced medial temporal lobe N-acetylaspartate in cognitively impaired but nondemented patients.
  Neurology 2005 Chao LL, Schuff N, Kramer JH, Du AT, Capizzano AA, O'Neill J, Wolkowitz OM, Jagust WJ, Chui HC, Miller BL, Yaffe K, Weiner MW
• Comparisons between global and focal brain atrophy rates in normal aging and Alzheimer disease: Boundary Shift Integral versus tracing of the entorhinal cortex and hippocampus.
  Alzheimer disease and associated disorders 2004 Ezekiel F, Chao L, Kornak J, Du AT, Cardenas V, Truran D, Jagust W, Chui H, Miller B, Yaffe K, Schuff N, Weiner M
• ERP evidence of impaired central nervous system function in virally suppressed HIV patients on antiretroviral therapy.
  Clinical neurophysiology : official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology 2004 Chao LL, Lindgren JA, Flenniken DL, Weiner MW
• Effects of heavy drinking, binge drinking, and family history of alcoholism on regional brain metabolites.
  Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research 2004 Meyerhoff DJ, Blumenfeld R, Truran D, Lindgren J, Flenniken D, Cardenas V, Chao LL, Rothlind J, Studholme C, Weiner MW
• Abnormal contingent negative variation in HIV patients receiving antiretroviral therapy.
  Neuroreport 2003 Chao LL, Cardenas VA, Meyerhoff DJ, Rothlind JC, Flenniken DL, Lindgren JA, Weiner MW
• Abnormal CNV in chronic heavy drinkers.
  Clinical neurophysiology : official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology 2003 Chao LL, Meyerhoff DJ, Cardenas VA, Rothlind JC, Weiner MW