Aiko Thompson PhD

Biography

Aiko Thompson, Ph.D. is a neuroscientist and an associate professor in the College of Health Professions, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC. She did her Ph.D. with Dr. Richard Stein at the University of Alberta, Canada, and then did a postdoc training with Dr. Jonathan Wolpaw at the Wadsworth Center in Albany, NY. During her Ph.D., she was engaged in non-invasive human neurophysiology / plasticity research related to the use of FES (functional electrical stimulation) foot drop simulator; she also started investigating normal and abnormal spinal reflex modulation during walking and other dynamic movements in people with and without chronic CNS disorders. Then, during her postdoc, she developed the human H-reflex operant conditioning protocol. In 2007, she established her own lab; since then, she has been working on understanding CNS plasticity in human sensorimotor control and how to guide the plasticity to help restore useful function in people after CNS damage. Her current research focuses on investigating functional roles of spinal reflexes and evaluating the CNS plasticity associated with operant conditioning of EMG evoked responses (e.g., spinal reflexes and motor evoked potential to transcranial magnetic stimulation) in people with SCI and other neuromuscular disorders. Her ongoing research is funded by NIH, DoD, South Carolina funds, and private endorsements.