Taylor Abel, MD

  • Assistant Professor, Neurological Surgery

Phone

412-692-8142

E-mail

abeltj@upmc.edu

Education & Training

MD, University of Washington (2010)

Campus Address

4401 Penn Ave

One-Line Research Description

Auditory Systems Neuroscience of Voice and Speech Perception; Clinical and Translational Neuroscience in Epilepsy Surgery

Dr. Abel is a pediatric neurosurgeon-scientist who directs the Pediatric Brain Electrophysiology Laboratory (PBEL) at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. The PBEL utilizes human intracranial recordings, neuroimaging, electroencephalography, and behavioral techniques to understand how the human brain mediates voice and speech perception.

Dr. Abel’s other interest is understanding the best strategies for epilepsy surgery using comparative effectiveness methods, clinical trials, and cost-effectiveness analysis.

Representative Publications

Abel TJ, Rhone AE, Nourski KV, Granner MA, Oya H, Griffiths TD, Tranel DT, Kawasaki H, Howard MA 3rd. Mapping the temporal pole with a specialized electrode array: technique and preliminary results. Physiological Measurement. 2014 Mar;35(3):323-37. PMID: 24480831

Abel TJ, Rhone AE, Nourski KV, Kawasaki H, Oya H, Griffiths TD, Howard MA 3rd, Tranel D. Direct physiologic evidence of a heteromodal convergence region for proper naming in human left anterior temporal lobe. Journal of Neuroscience. 2015 Jan 28;35(4):1513-20. PMID: 25632128

Abel TJ, Rhone AE, Nourski KV, Ando TK, Oya H, Kovach CK, Kawasaki H, Howard MA 3rd, Tranel D. Beta modulation reflects name retrieval in the human anterior temporal lobe: an intracranial recording study. Journal of Neurophysiology. 2016 Jun 1;115(6):3052-61. PMID: 27075536

Gnanateja GN, Rupp K, Llanos F, Remick M, Pernia M, Sadagopan S, Tobias T, Abel TJ, & Chandrasekaran B. (2021). Frequency-following responses to speech sounds are highly conserved across species and contain cortical distributions. eNeuro: ENEURO-0451-0421.2021.

Remick M, Ibrahim GM, Mansouri A, Abel TJ. Cross‐national disparities contribute to heterogeneity in patient outcomes following invasive monitoring: A hierarchical mixed‐effects analysis. Epilepsia. 2020 61 (9): e116-123. PMID: Pending.

Remick M, Ibrahim GM, Mansouri A, Abel TJ. Patient phenotypes and clinical outcomes in invasive monitoring for epilepsy: An individual patient data meta-analysis. Epilepsy and Behavior. 2020 Jan;102:106652. PMID: 31770717

Yan H, Katz JS, Anderson M, Mansouri A, Remick M, Ibrahim GM, Abel TJ. Method of invasive monitoring in epilepsy surgery and seizure freedom and morbidity: A systematic review. Epilepsia. 2019 Sep;60(9):1960-1972. PMID: 31423575

Katz JS, Abel TJ. Stereoelectroencephalography Versus Subdural Electrodes for Localization of the Epileptogenic Zone: What Is the Evidence?. Neurotherapeutics. 2019 Jan;16(1):59-66. PMID: 30652253.

Abel TJ, Varela Osorio R, Amorim-Leite R, Mathieu F, Kahane P, Minotti L, Hoffmann D, Chabardes S. Frameless robot-assisted stereoelectroencephalography in children: technical aspects and comparison with Talairach frame technique. Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics. 2018 Jul;22(1):37-46. PMID: 29676681.

Muthiah N, Akwayena E, Vodovotz L, Sharma N, Jeong J, White G, Abel TJ. (2021). Comparison of traditional and closed loop vagus nerve stimulation for treatment of pediatric drug-resistant epilepsy: A propensity-matched retrospective cohort study. Seizure. (In press).

Muthiah N, Zhang J, Remick M, Welch W, Sogawa Y, Jeong JH, Abel TJ. Efficacy of vagus nerve stimulation for drug-resistant epilepsy in children age six and younger. Epilepsy and Behavior. 2020 Sep 14;112:107373. PMID: 32942207.

Yan H, Toyota E, Anderson M, Abel TJ, Donner E, Kalia SK, Drake J, Rutka JT, Ibrahim GM. A systematic review of deep brain stimulation for the treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy in childhood. Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics. 2018 Nov 30;23(3):274-284. PMID: 30544364.

Barrash J, Abel TJ, Okerstrom-Jezewski KL, Zanaty M, Bruss JE, Manzel K, Howard M, Tranel D. Acquired Personality Disturbances After Meningioma Resection Are Strongly Associated With Impaired Quality of Life. Neurosurgery. 2020 Aug 1;87(2):276-284. PMID: 31642509.

Stewart E, Abel TJ, Davidson B, Smith ML. Behaviour outcomes in children with epilepsy 1 year after surgical resection of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Neuropsychologia. 2019 Oct;133:107155. PMID: 31398427.

Abel TJ, Manzel K, Bruss J, Belfi AM, Howard MA 3rd, Tranel D. The cognitive and behavioral effects of meningioma lesions involving the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Journal of Neurosurgery. 2016 Jun;124(6):1568-77. PMID: 26613174.