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Browse PlansKaren L. McCulloch
PhD, PT, MS, NCS(E), FAPTA, FACRM
Karen L. McCulloch is a professor in physical therapy in the Division of Physical Therapy, Department of Health Sciences, School of Medicine at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she has taught entry-level and advanced-level students in neurorehabilitation since 1993. She has served in multiple roles within the Academy of Neurologic Physical Therapy, including the inaugural Director of Education, and has been honored with the Service to the Section Award and the APTA Lucy Blair Service Award.
Karen has cared about individuals with traumatic brain injury since beginning as a PT in clinical practice, extending from moderate to severe brain injury to a recent focus on military and sports concussion. Her research has focused on developing outcome measures and interventions to improve active movement, balance, and functional mobility, with the aim to improve quality of life. She developed the Arm Motor Ability Test (for upper limb recovery following stroke) and the Walking and Remembering Test (for dual-task performance in older adults and individuals with acquired brain injury).
Her current research efforts are focused on military mild traumatic brain injury, developing performance-based testing that incorporates dual- and multitask activities, stemming from the Assessment of Military Multitasking Performance project but now being validated in more clinically applicable forms. She is also a collaborator on studies that examine acute exercise testing post concussion and exercise intervention, and she promotes practice-based evidence analysis of multidisciplinary rehabilitation in military mild TBI. She was the colead of the APTA sponsored group that developed the clinical practice guideline for physical therapy management of concussion, and she is involved in intervention studies that address treatment for sports and military concussions. She is active in the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine mTBI Task Force. Funding support for her research has come from the Foundation for Physical Therapy Research, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, National Football League, and Department of Defense. As an active member of the Academy of Neurologic Physical Therapy, she has received awards for service and is a Fellow of the American Physical Therapy Association.
Courses with Karen L. McCulloch
Browse Course CatalogAutonomic Dysfunction in Neurologic Physical Therapy
Presented by Karen L. McCulloch, PhD, PT, MS, NCS(E), FAPTA, FACRM
Autonomic Dysfunction in Neurologic Physical Therapy
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Video Runtime: 112 Minutes; Learning Assessment Time: 46 Minutes
The autonomic nervous system (ANS) has central nervous system components and peripheral nervous system components (both sympathetic and parasympathetic responses), all of which could be affected by neurologic conditions. Physical therapy activities that are commonly affected by ANS dysfunction include postural transitions (supine or sitting to standing) and exercise. This course reviews common ANS-driven hypotensive and hypertensive responses that may be observed in physical therapy practice and strategies for addressing them.
The autonomic nervous system (ANS) has central nervous system components and peripheral nervous system components (both sympathetic and parasympathetic responses), all of which could be affected by neurologic conditions. Physical therapy activities that are commonly affected by ANS dysfunction include postural transitions (supine or sitting to standing) and exercise. This course reviews common ANS-driven hypotensive and hypertensive responses that may be observed in physical therapy practice and strategies for addressing them.
Cognitive Impairments: Executive Function
Presented by Karen L. McCulloch, PhD, PT, MS, NCS(E), FAPTA, FACRM
Cognitive Impairments: Executive Function
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Part of a multiple-part series of courses on cognitive impairments seen in neurologic conditions, the purpose of this course is to review issues relevant to physical therapists related to executive function and self-awareness. Although these cognitive functions are not the direct focus of physical rehabilitation, therapists should be knowledgeable about the effects of executive dysfunction and impaired self-awareness as they relate to safety and prognosis.
Cognitive Impairments: Memory, Screening, and Intervention
Presented by Karen L. McCulloch, PhD, PT, MS, NCS(E), FAPTA, FACRM
Cognitive Impairments: Memory, Screening, and Intervention
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The purpose of this course is to provide an overview of the different ways that memory may be described and highlight common memory impairments that occur as a result of neurologic disease or injury. Particular emphasis will be placed on the procedural/non-procedural memory distinction as it relates to improving motor function in patients seen in rehabilitation.
Neurologic Standardized Outcome Measures
Presented by Karen L. McCulloch, PhD, PT, MS, NCS(E), FAPTA, FACRM
Neurologic Standardized Outcome Measures
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This course provides an overview of psychometric properties important for selection of outcome measures, and characteristics of measures that aid in their interpretability and clinical usefulness. The approach of item response theory will be described as a tool to refine developing measures so that they can be shorter and represent a hierarchy of item difficulty. This approach also may facilitate the transition to computer assisted measurement. Consensus-oriented processes and resources will be reviewed that provide therapists with information about ideal measures for different adult neurologic conditions. The application of these principles to cases or practice settings is addressed via knowledge check examples.
Pathophysiology and Plasticity in Neurologic Conditions
Presented by Karen L. McCulloch, PhD, PT, MS, NCS(E), FAPTA, FACRM
Pathophysiology and Plasticity in Neurologic Conditions
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The purpose of this course is to review commonalities in physiologic mechanisms of neurologic damage through the use of key examples, including more gross processes (focal or diffuse injury that occurs suddenly) as well as degenerative changes that occur as a result of a disease process. Intrinsic and extrinsic factors that affect cellular processes that lead to improvement in function are highlighted, as well as behavioral factors that are associated with neuroplastic change. This course aims to draw parallels across conditions that are seen in adult neurologic practice and encourage therapeutic activity to drive neuroplasticity.
Foundations of Cognitive Impairments: Attention Examinations and Interventions
Presented by Karen L. McCulloch, PhD, PT, MS, NCS(E), FAPTA, FACRM
Foundations of Cognitive Impairments: Attention Examinations and Interventions
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This course is part of a series on cognitive impairments seen in neurologic conditions. The purpose of this course is to review attention-related issues that are relevant to physical therapists and other allied health professionals. In particular, this course covers dual-task examination options and describes activities that challenge attention as a component of PT intervention.
Foundations of Cognitive Impairments: Understanding Attention
Presented by Karen L. McCulloch, PhD, PT, MS, NCS(E), FAPTA, FACRM
Foundations of Cognitive Impairments: Understanding Attention
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and patient education—anytime, anywhere—with video instruction from
recognized industry experts.
This course is part of a series on cognitive impairments seen in neurologic conditions. The purpose of this course is to review attention-related issues relevant to physical therapists and other allied health staff. In particular, this course covers how to screen and identify possible attention problems, as well as how to perform testing that integrates attention into functional mobility skills.
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