A photo of Anna Weber Byars.

Anna Weber Byars, PhD, ABPP-Cn

  • Pediatric Neuropsychologist, Division of Neurology
  • Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
In my practice, I try to keep the 'whole child' in mind. A child with epilepsy, for example, has the same gifts and challenges, along with additional trials, as a child without epilepsy.

About

Biography

As a pediatric neuropsychologist, I provide neuropsychological evaluations for children who have epilepsy or stroke. These assessments test memory, language, motor skills, problem-solving and other functions before and after surgery or to assist in evaluating the effects of treatment.

When I was in college, I took a physiological psychology course. The connection between changes in brain and changes in behavior was – and still is – fascinating to me. I love explaining to parents, who generally already know this to be true, that what they see their children doing results from their seizures, their stroke or their treatments, and that there are solutions to work around these problems.

In my practice, I try to keep the “whole child” in mind. A child with epilepsy, for example, has the same gifts and challenges, along with additional trials, as a child without epilepsy.

Neuropsychological assessment is a great tool for informing treatment, understanding the course of the condition and helping to identify targets for intervention. It will answer questions for your child's neurologist or neurosurgeon, and it will also tell you a lot about your child and his or her behavior.

A number of years ago, I was honored to be included in the Charlotte R. Schmidlapp Women’s Scholar Program. This program continues to benefit me through networking opportunities and ongoing connections to other winners of this award, before and since.

In addition to helping patients, I’m involved in research. I collaborate with my physician colleagues on studies aimed at understanding the best ways to predict and improve disease outcomes.

In my free time, I'm usually following my three children around to soccer games, regattas or music performances. I've become a big soccer fan over the last 10 years!

 PhD: University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL.

Internship: West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown, WV.

Fellowship: Pediatric Neuropsychology, Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH.

Interests

Functional MRI; stroke; epilepsy; language disorders

Services and Specialties

Neurology, Epilepsy, Cerebrovascular

Research Areas

Neurology

Insurance Information

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Publications

Neuronal Circuits Supporting Development of Visual Naming Revealed by Intracranial Coherence Modulations. Arya, R; Ervin, B; Buroker, J; Greiner, HM; Byars, AW; Rozhkov, L; Skoch, J; Horn, PS; Frink, C; Scholle, C; et al. Frontiers in Neuroscience. 2022; 16.

Empowering Families Through Technology: A Mobile-Health Project to Reduce the TAND Identification and Treatment Gap (TANDem). Heunis, TM; Bissell, S; Byars, AW; Capal, JK; Chambers, N; Cukier, S; Davis, PE; De Waele, L; Flinn, J; Gardner-Lubbe, S; et al. Frontiers in Psychiatry. 2022; 13.

A distributed network supports spatiotemporal cerebral dynamics of visual naming. Ervin, B; Buroker, J; Byars, AW; Rozhkov, L; Leach, JL; Horn, PS; Scholle, C; Mangano, FT; Greiner, HM; Holland, KD; et al. Electromyography and Clinical Neurophysiology. 2021; 132:2948-2958.

Updated International Tuberous Sclerosis Complex Diagnostic Criteria and Surveillance and Management Recommendations. Northrup, H; Aronow, ME; Bebin, EM; Bissler, J; Darling, TN; de Vries, PJ; Frost, MD; Fuchs, Z; Gosnell, ES; Gupta, N; et al. Pediatric Neurology. 2021; 123:50-66.

Case Report: Cerebral Revascularization in a Child With Mucopolysaccharidosis Type I. Grant, N; Taylor, JM; Plummer, Z; Myers, K; Burrow, T; Luchtman-Jones, L; Byars, A; Hammill, A; Wusick, K; Smith, E; et al. Frontiers in Pediatrics. 2021; 9.

Sirolimus Treatment in Sturge-Weber Syndrome. Sebold, AJ; Day, AM; Ewen, J; Adamek, J; Byars, A; Cohen, B; Kossoff, EH; Mizuno, T; Ryan, M; Sievers, J; et al. Pediatric Neurology. 2021; 115:29-40.

High-gamma modulation language mapping with stereo-EEG: A novel analytic approach and diagnostic validation. Ervin, B; Buroker, J; Rozhkov, L; Holloway, T; Horn, PS; Scholle, C; Byars, AW; Mangano, FT; Leach, JL; Greiner, HM; et al. Electromyography and Clinical Neurophysiology. 2020; 131:2851-2860.

Reading in children with drug-resistant epilepsy was related to functional connectivity in cognitive control regions. Kraus, D; Vannest, J; Arya, R; Hutton, JS; Leach, JL; Mangano, FT; Tenney, JR; Byars, AW; DeWitt, TG; Horowitz-Kraus, T. Acta Paediatrica, International Journal of Paediatrics. 2020; 109:2105-2111.

Electrical stimulation sensorimotor mapping with stereo-EEG. Arya, R; Ervin, B; Holloway, T; Dudley, J; Horn, PS; Buroker, J; Rozhkov, L; Scholle, C; Byars, AW; Leach, JL; et al. Electromyography and Clinical Neurophysiology. 2020; 131:1691-1701.

Neuropsychological outcomes after pediatric epilepsy surgery: Role of electrical stimulation language mapping. Sakpichaisakul, K; Byars, AW; Horn, PS; Aungaroon, G; Greiner, HM; Mangano, FT; Holland, KD; Arya, R. Seizure : the journal of the British Epilepsy Association. 2020; 80:183-191.

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