Erik Plautz, PhD

Instructor
Neurology and Neurotherapeutics

Contact Information

UT Southwestern Medical Center
5323 Harry Hines Boulevard
Dallas, Texas 75390

erik.plautz@utsouthwestern.edu

Biography

Dr. Plautz received a BA in Biology from Johns Hopkins University in 1992 and a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston in 2001. After a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Kansas Medical Center from 2001-03, Dr. Plautz held a faculty appointment in the Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology at KUMC from 2003-10. Concurrent with this appointment, Dr. Plautz served as managing director of the cortical plasticity laboratory under Dr. Randolph Nudo. In this position, Dr. Plautz was a co-investigator on several NIH grants and industry contracts, acted as co-advisor to numerous graduate and post-doctoral trainees, and served on IACUC for three years.

His scientific research focused on neural plasticity associated with motor learning and recovery of function after stroke in rodent and non-human primate models, emphasizing a systems neuroscience approach to examining changes in neurophysiology, neuroanatomy, and sensorimotor behavior. These studies utilized behavioral, pharmacological, and bioengineering techniques to enhance therapeutic outcomes.

Dr. Plautz joined the faculty of the Department of Neurology at UT Southwestern in August 2010.

Education

Graduate SchoolUniversity of Texas Health Science Center-Houston (2001)
UndergraduateJohns Hopkins University, Biology (1992)

Research Interests

Mechanisms of functional recovery after injury
Models of neurological injury/disease
Neurophysiology and neural plasticity
Sensorimotor behavior
Stroke

Publications

Featured
A single injection of d-amphetamine facilitates improvements in motor training following a focal cortical infarct in squirrel monkeys

S Barbay, EV Zoubina, N Dancause, SB Frost, I Janowicz, AM Stowe, EJ Plautz, RJ Nudo , Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair , 2006; (20):455-8

Featured
Extensive cortical rewiring following brain injury

N Dancause, S Barbay, SB Frost, EJ Plautz, D Chen, EV Zoubina, AM Stowe, RJ Nudo , Journal of Neuroscience , 2005; (25):10167-179

Featured
Post-infarct cortical plasticity and behavioral recovery using concurrent cortical stimulation and rehabilitative training: a feasibility study in primates

EJ Plautz, S Barbay, SB Frost, KM Friel, N Dancause, EV Zoubina, AM Stowe, BM Quaney, RJ Nudo , Neurological Research , 2003; (25):801-10

Featured
Reorganization of remote cortical regions after ischemic brain injury: a potential substrate for stroke recovery

SB Frost, S Barbay, KM Friel, EJ Plautz, RJ Nudo , Journal of Neurophysiology , 2003; (89):3205-14

Featured
Effects of repetitive motor training on movement representations in adult squirrel monkeys: role of use versus learning

EJ Plautz, GW Milliken, RJ Nudo , Neurobiology of Learning and Memory , 2000; (74):27-55

Combination of NEP 1-40 tretment and motor training enhances behavioral recovery following a focal cortical infarct in rats

PC Fang, S Barbay, EJ Plautz, E Hoover, SM Strittmatter, RJ Nudo , Stroke , 2010; (41):544-9

A novel device to measure power grip forces in squirrel monkeys

SD Bury, EJ Plautz, W Liu, BM Quaney, CW Luchies, RA Maletsky, RJ Nudo , Journal of Neuroscience Methods , 2009; (179):264-70

Early and late changes in the distal forelimb representation of the supplementary motor area following injury to frontal motor areas in the squirrel monkey

I Eisner-Janowicz, S Barbay, E Hoover, AM Stowe, SB Frost, EJ Plautz, RJ Nudo , Journal of Neurophysiology , 2008; (100):1498-1512

Neuronal HIF-1α protein and VEGFR-2 immunoreactivity in functionally related motor areas following a focal M1 infarct

AM Stowe, EJ Plautz, P Nguyen, SB Frost, I Eisner-Janowicz, S Barbay, N Dancause, A Sensarma, MD Taylor, EV Zoubina, RJ Nudo , Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism , 2008; (28):612-20