Scott Wylie, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Department of Neurological Surgery


220 Abraham Flexner

Dr. Scott Wylie received his PhD in cognitive neuroscience and clinical neuropsychology from Indiana University in 2002 and completed post-doctoral training in neuropsychology in the Neurology department at the University of Virginia. Prior to joining the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of Louisville, Dr. Wylie was on faculty in the Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychology departments at Vanderbilt University and in the Neurology department at the University of Virginia.

Dr. Wylie's research focuses broadly on cognitive and neural mechanisms involved in the control, timing, and learning of motor actions. His work specializes in characterizing and measuring how individuals execute split-second decisions to start, stop, and change actions as well as control incorrect motor impulses in the face of pressure and distraction. His work investigates how these neurocognitive systems function in the healthy brain as well as how they breakdown in neurodegenerative movement disorders like Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, and Essential Tremor, and are impacted by various intervention strategies (e.g., dopaminergic medications, deep brain stimulation). More recently, Dr. Wylie's work has investigated how these cognitive systems are enhanced in elite athletes who rely on split-second information processing and motor control to perform in exceptionally dynamic visual and reactive situations.