Chris Filley, MD
Professor, Neurology

Professional Titles

• Founding Director, Behavioral Neurology Section
• Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry

Recognition & Awards

• Fellow, American Neuropsychiatric Association (2023)
• Best Scientists in the Field of Neuroscience ranking of #1408 in the United States and #3039 in the World, Research.com (2023)
• Senior Guest Associate Editor for Research Topic “White Matter Dementia: Neuropathological and Neuropsychological Underpinnings and State of the Art Diagnosis Methods and Treatments,”, Frontiers in Neurology (2022)
• World Expert in White Matter, Expertscape (2021)
• Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award for Being Listed in a Marquis Who’s Who Publication for 20 or More Years, Who's Who (2017)
• Service Award for 30 years of Service to the United States Government, Denver Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Department of Veterans Affairs (2017)
• Fellow, American Neurological Association (2013)
• Professor of Neurology, University of Colorado School of Medicine (1997)
• Fellow, American Academy of Neurology (1995)
• Founding Director, Behavioral Neurology Section, University of Colorado School of Medicine (1991)

Teaching

Publications

• Utter B, Anderson CA, Filley CM, Kelly JP, Johnston-Brooks C, Arciniegas DB. Cannabis use in a cohort of healthcare-seeking United States military veterans with persisting symptoms after mild traumatic brain injury: preliminary observations. Mil Med 2023;188:e2158.
• Filley CM. White matter dementia then . . . and now. Front Neurol 2022 Nov 21;13:1043583.
• Carlisle TC, Birlea M, Restrepo D, Filley CM. Headache-associated phantosmia as a harbinger of Lewy body dementia. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 2023;35:92-97.
• Kelly JP, Priemer DS, Perl DP, Filley CM. Sports concussion and chronic traumatic encephalopathy: finding a path forward. Ann Neurol 2023;93:222-225.
• Holden SK, Bettcher BM, Filley CM, Lopez-Paniagua D, Pelak VS. Posterior white matter integrity and self-reported posterior cortical symptoms using the Colorado Posterior Cortical Questionnaire. Front Neurol 2023;14:1072938.
• Pressman PS, Chen KH, Casey J, Sillau S, Chial H, Filley CM, Miller BL, Levenson RW. Incongruences between facial expression and self-reported emotional reactivity in frontotemporal dementia and related disorders. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 2023; 35:192-201.
• Thaker AA, McConnell BV, Rogers DM, Carlson NE, Coughlan C, Jensen AM, Lopez-Paniagua D, Holden SK, Pressman PS, Pelak VS, Filley CM, Potter H, Solano DA, Heffernan KS, Bettcher BM. Astrogliosis, neuritic microstructure, and sex effects: GFAP is an indicator of neuritic orientation in women. Brain Behav Immun 2023: 113: 124-135.
• Filley CM, Penner I-K, Schäfer L, Köhler W. Editorial. White matter dementia: neuropathological and neuropsychological underpinnings and state of the art diagnosis methods and treatments. Front Neurol 2023 Aug 17;14:1268295.
• Filley CM. White matter, behavioral neurology, and the influence of corticocentrism. Cogn Behav Neurol 2022; 35: 147-152.
• Macchi ZA, Carlisle TC, Filley CM. Prognosis in substance abuse-related acute toxic leukoencephalopathy: a scoping review. J Neurol Sci 2022; 442: 120420.
• Hebert JR, Filley CM. Multisensory integration and white matter pathology: contributions to cognitive dysfunction. Front Neurol 2022;13:1051538.
• Filley CM. Cognition in cerebral palsy: white matter matters. Eur J Paediatr Neurol 2021; 32: A1.
• Filley CM. White matter and human behavior. Science 2021; 372; 1265-1266.
• Filley CM. White matter disease and psychiatric dysfunction: clinical and neurobiological insights. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 2021; 33: 178-179.
• Rajic AJ, Pressman PS, Woodcock JH, Chial HJ, Filley CM. Use of coffee grounds to test olfaction for predicting cognitive dysfunction and decline. J Neurol Sci 2021; 427: 117516.
• Filley CM. Cognitive dysfunction in white matter disorders: new perspectives in treatment and recovery. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 2021;33:349-355.
• Filley CM. Social cognition and white matter: connectivity and cooperation. Cogn Behav Neurol 2020; 33; 67-75.
• Filley CM. On the trail of white matter. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 2020; 32: 312-313.
• Filley CM. Progress in the diagnosis of traumatic brain injury. Neurology 2020; 95: 235- 236.
• Filley CM, Kletenik I, Churchland PS. Morality and the brain: the right hemisphere and doing right. Cogn Behav Neurol 2020;33:304-307..
• Filley CM, Arciniegas DB, Brenner LA, Anderson CA, Kelly JP. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy: a clinical perspective. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 2019;31:170-172.
• Filley CM. History of subcortical cognitive impairment. Front Neurol Neurosci. 2019;44:108-117.
• Bateman JR, Filley CM, Ross ED, Bettcher BM, Hubbard HI, Babiak M, Pressman PS. Aprosodia and prosoplegia with right frontal neurodegeneration. Neurocase. 2019: 25:187-194.
• Bateman JR, Filley CM, Kaplan RI, Heffernan KS, Bettcher BM. Lifetime surgical exposure, episodic memory, and forniceal microstructure in older adults. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol 2019 41:1048-1059.
• Filley CM, Burke H, Anderson CA. Anterior cerebral artery territory infarction-related resolution of chronic lower back pain, J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 2018; 30: 81-83.
• Kozora E, Filley CM, Erkan D, Ulug AM, Vo A, Ramon G, Burleson A, Zimmerman RD, Lockshin MD. Longitudinal evaluation of diffusion tensor imaging and cognition in systemic lupus erythematosus. Lupus 2018; 27: 1810-1818.
• Filley CM, Kelly JP. White matter and cognition in traumatic brain injury. J Alzheimers Dis 2018; 65: 345-362.
• Filley CM. Prematurity, white matter, and cognition: support for leukocentrism. Dev Med Child Neurol 2017; 59: 888.
• Filley CM, McConnell BV, Anderson CA. The expanding prominence of toxic leukoencephalopathy. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 2017; 29: 308-318.
• Kluger BM, Persenaire MJ, Holden SK, Palmer LT, Redwine H, Berk J, Anderson CA, Filley CM, Kutner J, Miyasaki J, Carter J. Implementation issues relevant to outpatient neurology palliative care. Ann Palliat Med 2017; 7: 339-348..
• Anderson CA, Woodcock JH, Filley CM. Transient prosopagnosia with right temporal astrocytoma. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 2016; 28: e13-e14.
• Filley CM. Fragile X tremor ataxia syndrome and white matter dementia. Clin Neuropsychol 2016; 30: 901-912.
• Anderson CA, Filley CM. Delusional misidentification syndromes: progress and new challenges. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 2016; 28: 160-161.
• Filley CM. White Matter Dementia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016.
• Filley CM. White matter dementia: origin, development, progress, and prospects. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 2016; 28: 262-272.
• Kozora E. Ulug AM, Erkan D, Vo A, Filley CM, Ramon G, Burleson A, Zimmerman R, Lockshin MD. Functional MRI of working memory and executive dysfunction in systemic lupus erythematosus and antiphospholipid antibody positive patients. Arthritis Care Res 2016; 68: 1655-1663.
• Filley CM, Fields RD. White matter and cognition: making the connection. J Neurophysiol 2016; 116: 2093-2104.
• Filley CM. The history of behavioral neurology. In: Barr W, Bielauskas LA. The Oxford Handbook of History of Clinical Neuropsychology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016.
• Pelak VS, Filley CM. Clinical and imaging clues to posterior cortical atrophy. Neurol Clin Pract 2015; 5: 270-271.
• Filley CM, Bernick C. Children and football: a cautionary tale. Neurology 2015; 84: 1068-1069.
• Filley CM, Brown MS, Onderko K, Ray M, Bennett RE, Berry-Kravis E, Grigsby J. White matter disease and cognitive impairment in FMR1 premutation carriers. Neurology 2015; 84; 2146-2152.
• Filley CM. Alzheimer’s disease prevention: new optimism. Neurol Clin Pract 2015; 5: 193-200
• Pelak VS, Filley CM. Clinical and imaging clues to posterior cortical atrophy. Neurol Clin Pract 2015; 5; 270-271.
• Filley CM. Occupation and the risk of chronic toxic leukoencephalopathy. Handb Clin Neurol 2015; 131: 73-91.
• Hall DA, Bennett DA, Filley CM, Shah RC, Kluger B, Ouyang B, Berry-Kravis E. Fragile X gene expansions are not associated with dementia. Neurobiol Aging 2014; 35: 2637-2638.
• Arciniegas DB, Anderson CA, Filley CM. Behavioral Neurology & Neuropsychiatry. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013.
• Kozora E, Arciniegas DB, Duggan E, West S, Brown M, Ellison M, Filley CM. White matter abnormalities and working memory impairment in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Cogn Behav Neurol 2013; 26: 63-72.
• Shipley SM, Frederick MC, Filley CM, Kluger BM. Potential for misdiagnosis in community-acquired PET scans for dementia. Neurol Clin Pract 2013; 3: 305-312.
• Lafosse JM, Mitchell SM, Corboy JR, Filley CM. The nature of verbal memory impairment in multiple sclerosis: a list-learning and meta-analytic study. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 2013; 19: 995-1008.
• Kozora,E, Arciniegas DB, Duggan E, West S, Brown M, Ellison M, Filley CM. White matter abnormalities and working memory impairment in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Cogn Behav Neurol 2013;26:63-77.
• Bigler E, Deibert E, Filley CM. When is a concussion no longer a concussion? Neurology 2013;81:14-15.
• Kozora E, Filley CM, Zhang L, Brown MS, Miller DE, Arciniegas DB, Pelzman J, West SG. Immune function and brain abnormalities in systemic lupus erythematosus patients without overt neuropsychiatric manifestations. Lupus 2012; 21: 402-411.
• Filley CM. White matter dementia. Ther Adv Neurol Disord 2012; 5: 267-277.
• Filley CM, Anderson CA. Dementia: five new things. Neurology Clin Pract 2011; 76 (Suppl 2): S26-S30.
• Kozora E, Brown MS, Filley CM, Zhang L,Miller DE, West SG, Pelzman J, Arciniegas DB. Memory impairment associated with neurometabolic abnormalities of the hippocampus in patients with non-neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus. Lupus 2011;20:598-606.
• Filley CM, Brodtmann A. Lacunes and cognitive decline: little things matter. Neurology 2011; 76: 1856-1857.
• Wortzel HS, Kraus MF, Filley CM, Anderson CA, Arciniegas DB. Diffusion tensor imaging in mild traumatic brain injury litigation. J Am Acad Psychiatry Law 2011; 39: 511-523.
• Pelak VS, Smyth SF, Boyer PJ, Filley CM. Computerized visual field defects in posterior cortical atrophy. Neurology 2011; 77: 2119-2122.
• Hurley RA, Filley CM, Taber KH. Central pontine myelinolysis: A metabolic disorder of myelin. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 2011; 23: 369-374.
• Kozora E, West SG, Maier SF, Filley CM, Arciniegas DB, Brown M, Miller D, Grimm A, Zhang L. Antibodies against N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus without major neuropsychiatric syndromes. J Neurol Sci 2010; 295: 87-91.
• Filley CM. White matter and behavioral neurology. Ann NY Acad Sci 2005;1064:162-183.
• Filley CM, Halliday W, Kleinschmidt-DeMasters BK. The effects of toluene on the central nervous system.J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 2004;63:1-12.
• Filley CM, Kleinschmidt-DeMasters BK. Toxic leukoencephalopathy. N Engl J Med 2001;345:425-432.
• Filley CM, Price BH, Nell V, Antoinette T, Morgan AJ, Bresnahan JF, Pincus JH, Gelbort MM, Weissberg M, Kelly JP. Toward an understanding of violence: neurobehavioral aspects of unwarranted physical aggression. Aspen Neurobehavioral Conference Consensus statement. Neuropsychiatry Neuropsychol Behav Neurol 2001;14:1-14.
• Filley CM. The Behavioral Neurology of White Matter. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.
• Giacino JT, Zasler ND, Katz DI, Kelly JP, Rosenberg JH, Filley CM. Development of practice guidelines for assessment and management of the vegetative and minimally conscious states. J Head Trauma Rehab 1997;12:79-89.
• Filley CM. Neurobehavioral Anatomy. Niwot, CO: University Press of Colorado, 1995.
• Parker WD, Mahr NJ, Filley CM, Parks JK, Hughes D, Young DA, Cullum CM. Reduced platelet cytochrome c oxidase activity in Alzheimer's disease. Neurology 1994;44:1086-1089.
• Parker WD, Parks J, Filley CM, Kleinschmidt-DeMasters BK. Electron transport chain defects in Alzheimer's disease brain. Neurology 1994;44:1090-1096.
• Kelly JP, Nichols JS, Filley CM, Lillehei KO, Rubinstein D, Kleinschmidt-DeMasters BK. Concussion in sports: guidelines for the prevention of catastrophic outcome. J Am Med Assoc 1991;266:2867-2869.
• Filley CM, Heaton RK, Rosenberg NL. White matter dementia in chronic toluene abuse. Neurology 1990;40:532-534.
• Parker WD, Filley CM, Parks J. Cytochrome oxidase deficiency in Alzheimer's Disease. Neurology 1990;40:1302-1303.
• Thompson TL, Filley CM, Mitchell WD, Culig KM, LoVerde M, Byyny RL. Lack of efficacy of Hydergine in patients with Alzheimer's Disease. New Engl J Med 1990;323:445- 448.
• Filley CM, Heaton RK, Nelson LM, Burks JS, Franklin GM. A comparison of dementia in Alzheimer's Disease and multiple sclerosis. Arch Neurol 1989;46:157-161.
• Franklin GM, Nelson LM, Filley CM, Heaton RK. Cognitive loss in multiple sclerosis: case reports and review of the literature. Arch Neurol 1989;46:162-167.
• Filley CM, Franklin GM, Heaton RK, Rosenberg NL. White matter dementia: clinical disorders and implications. Neuropsychiatry Neuropsychol Behav Neurol 1988;1:239-254.
• Rosenberg NL, Kleinschmidt-DeMasters BK, Davis KA, Dreisbach JN, Hormes JT, Filley CM. Toluene abuse causes diffuse central nervous system white matter changes. Ann Neurol 1988;23:611-614.
• Filley CM, Cranberg LD, Alexander MP, Hart EJ. Neurobehavioral outcome after closed head injury in childhood and adolescence. Arch Neurol 1987;44:194-198.
• Hormes JT, Filley CM, Rosenberg NL. Neurologic sequelae of chronic solvent vapor abuse. Neurology 1986;36:698-702.
• Filley CM, Graff-Radford NR, Lacy JR, Heitner M, Earnest MP. Neurologic manifestations of podophyllin toxicity. Neurology 1982;32:308-311.

Professional Memberships

• American Academy of Neurology, Fellow
• Society for Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology, Member
• International Neuropsychological Society, Member
• American Neurological Association, Fellow
• Colorado Neurological Society, Member
• American Neuropsychiatric Association, Fellow