Paul E. Schulz, M.D.
Associate Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience
Director, Neurology Residency Program
Director, Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology Fellowship
Director, Neurology Fellowships
Director, Neurology Grand Rounds CME
Director, Cognitive Research Group
Clinical Service Area
Neurology - Behavioral Neurology
Specialty
Behavioral and Cognitive Disorders
Neurodegenerative Disorders
Board Certification
American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Neurology
Clinic Appointments
713-798-8986
Consult
713-798-8986
Medical School
Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
Residency
Neurology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
Fellowship
Neurology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
Clinical Interests
Dementias, including Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, fronto-temporal dementias (FTD), corticobasal ganglionic degeneration, parkinsonism, and manganism. Disorders of thinking, memory, and language. Cognitive impairment in other neurologic disorders such as ALS, Myotonic Dystrophy, and West Nile Virus. Behavioral changes associated with cognitive dysfunction, including anxiety, depressions, mood lability, mania, and apathy. Thought disorders (psychosis) associated with cognitive impairment such as confusion, delusions, hallucinations, misidentifications, misperceptions, and suspiciousness.
Clinic Location
- Baylor Neurology
Smith Tower
6550 Fannin St., Suite 1801
Houston, TX 77030
Research Interests
Clinical Research: Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and FTD associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), including functional imaging (fMRI) to study social interaction, genetic studies for mutations underlying FTD and ALS, epidemiologic studies of FTD and ALS to ascertain factors that increase or decrease the probability or rate of progression of FTD and ALS, and pathologic approaches of FTD and ALS to ascertain diagnostic accuracy and processes at the cellular level that underlie the disorders; semantic memory, including changes in FTD-ALS, and epilepsy or epilepsy surgery; epidemiologic investigations of dementia to study the frequency, recognition, and treatment of dementia and aggression and anxiety in dementia, and to ascertain risk factors for dementia, which would give clues as to underlying pathophysiology.
Laboratory Research: The normal cellular mechanisms underlying synaptic plasticity, which are changes in the connections between neurons (nerve cells) that contribute to the cellular basis of learning and memory, language development, visuospatial function, emotional changes, etc.- the forms of synaptic plasticity under study include LTP, LTD, and decremental potentiation; using electrophysiologic (extracellular and patch-clamp recording techniques) and genetic approaches to study the induction and expression of these forms of synaptic plasticity, which includes investigating intracellular molecules, transcriptional regulation, and mechanisms of expression; investigating how normal synaptic plasticity mechanisms are disrupted in mouse models of dementia to gain clues as to the mechanisms underlying these disorders; the cellular mechanisms underlying a more rapid form of neuronal loss, i.e. that involved in global cerebral (brain) ischemia, and neuroprotection mechanisms to reduce neuronal loss—the hypothesis being that similar mechanisms may be involved in acute (stroke) and more chronic (neurodegeneration) cell loss.
Publications
- Kasten MR, Fan Y, Schulz PE. Activation of silent synapses with sustained but not decremental long-term potentiation. Neurosci Lett 2007;417:84-9.
- Kunik ME, Walgama JP, Snow AL, Davila JA, Schulz PE, Steele AB, Morgan RO. Documentation, assessment, and treatment of aggression in patients with newly diagnosed dementia. Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord 2007;21:115-21.
- Schmolck H, Mosnik D, Schulz P. Rating the approachability of faces in ALS. Neurology 2007;69:2232-5.
- Wheaton MW, Salamone AR, Mosnik DM, McDonald RO, Appel SH, Schmolck HI, Ringholz GM, Schulz PE. Cognitive impairment in familial ALS. Neurology 2007;69:1411-7.
- Bowler RM, Koller W, Schulz PE. Parkinsonism due to manganism in a welder: neurological and neuropsychological sequelae. Neurotoxicology 2006;27:327-32.
- Krishnan LL, Petersen NJ, Snow AL, Cully JA, Schulz PE, Graham DP, Morgan RO, Braun U, Moffett ML, Yu HJ, Kunik ME. Prevalence of dementia among Veterans Affairs medical care system users. Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord 2005;20:245-53.
- Ringholz GM, Appel SH, Bradshaw M, Cooke NA, Mosnik DM, Schulz PE. Prevalence and patterns of cognitive impairment in sporadic ALS. Neurology 2005;65:586-90.
- Sadek AH, Rauch R, Schulz PE. Parkinsonism due to manganism in a welder. Int J Toxicol 2003;22:393-401.
- Schulz PE, McIntosh AD, Kasten MR, Wieringa B, Epstein HF. A role for myotonic dystrophy protein kinase in synaptic plasticity. J Neurophysiol 2003;89:1177-86.
- Sadak AH, Schulz PE. Welding-related parkinsonism: clinical features, treatment, and pathophysiology. Neurology 2001;57:1738-9.
- Schulz PE. Long-term potentiation involves increases in the probability of neurotransmitter release. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 1997;94:5888-93.
- Schulz PE, Fitzgibbons JC. Differing mechanisms of expression for short- and long-term potentiation. J Neurophysiol 1997;78:321-34.
- Schulz PE, Cook EP, Johnston D. Using paired-pulse facilitation to probe the mechanisms for long-term potentiation (LTP). J Physiol Paris 1995;89:09-Mar.
- Schulz PE, Cook EP, Johnston D. Changes in paired-pulse facilitation suggest presynaptic involvement in long-term potentiation. J Neurosci 1994;14:5325-37.
- Schulz PE, Weiner SP, Haber LM, Armstrong DD, Fishman MA. Neurological complications from fat emulsion therapy. Ann Neurol 1994;35:628-30.
- Sanders WE, Jr., Cheirif J, Desir R, Zoghbi WA, Hoyt BD, Schulz PE, Quinones MA. Contrast opacification of left ventricular myocardium following intravenous administration of sonicated albumin microspheres. Am Heart J 1991;122:1660-5.
- Schulz PE, Weiner SP, Belmont JW, Fishman MA. Basal ganglia calcifications in a case of biotinidase deficiency. Neurology 1988;38:1326-8.
Poster Presentations
- Salamone AR, Wheaton M, McDowell E, Strutt AM, Schulz PE. Diabetes Mellitus: Risk or Protective Factor in ALS?. American Academy of Neurology (AAN), 60th Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois (April 12-19, 2008).
- Fan Y, Deng P, Wang Y-C, Lu H-C, Xu ZC, Schulz PE. Increases in the Excitability of CA1 Pyramidal Neurons after Transient Cerebral Ischemia. American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, International Stroke Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana (Feb. 20-22, 2008).
- Salamone AR, Wheaton M, McDowell E, Strutt AM, Schulz PE. Is Diabetes Mellitus a Protective Factor for ALS?. International Symposium on ALS/MND, 18th Annual Meeting in Toronto, Canada (Dec. 1-3, 2007).
- Salamone AR, Strutt AM, McDowell EJ, Ngo D, Coerver K, Ringholz G, York MK, Schulz PE. Gender Differences in the Clinical Presentation of Familial Frontotemporal Dementia. National Academy of Neuropsychology (NAN), 27th Annual Meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona (Nov. 14-18, 2007).
- Salamone AR, Witgert M, Strutt AM, Schulz PE. Behavioral and Cognitive Dysfunction in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. American Neurological Association (ANA), 132nd Annual Meeting in Washington, DC (Oct. 7-10, 2007).
- Salamone AR, Witgert M, Macias A, Massman P, Bradshaw M, Mosnik D, Schulz PE. FTD-like Cognitive and Behavioral Changes in ALS. 2nd International Frontotemporal Dementia in ALS Research Conference, London, Ontario Canada (June 10-13, 2007).
- York MK, Macias A, Schulz PE, Harati Y, Katz J, Woolley-Levine S. Preliminary Validation of the ALS Cognitive Behavioral Screen (ALS-CBS)T. 2nd International Frontotemporal Dementia in ALS Research Conference, London, Ontario Canada (June 10-13, 2007).
- Pinto-Patarroyo GP, Schmolck H, Wheaton MW, Mosnik D, Macias A, King-Casas B, Montague PR, Schulz PE. A Functional MRI Study of Social Cognition in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. International Symposium on ALS/MND, 17th Annual Meeting in Yokohama, Japan (Nov. 30 - Dec. 2, 2006).
- Salamone AR, Mosnik D, Witgert M, Bradshaw M, Schulz PE. The Relationship between Frontal Behavioral and Cognitive Changes in ALS. International Symposium on ALS/MND, 17th Annual Meeting in Yokohama, Japan (Nov. 30 - Dec. 2, 2006).
- Sterling L, Mosnik D, Salamone AR, Wheaton M, Appel S, Schulz PE. The Dissociation of Dysarthria from Cognitive Dysfunction in ALS. International Symposium on ALS/MND, 17th Annual Meeting in Yokohama, Japan (Nov. 30 - Dec. 2, 2006).
- Salamone AR, McDowell E, York MK, Macias A, Ngo D, Mosnik D, Patel P, Coerver K, Ringholz G, Schulz PE. Family with Female Predominant FTD. 5th International Conference on Frontotemporal Dementia, San Francisco, California (Sept. 6-8, 2006).
- Schmolck H, York MK, Verma A, Goldsmith IL, Yoshor D, Levin HS, Foreman PJ, Mizrahi EM, Schulz PE. Impaired Semantic Memory in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy - What is the Role of Anterior Temporal Lobectomy?. American Epilepsy Society (AES), 59th Annual Meeting in Washington, DC (Dec. 2-6, 2005).
- Schmolck H, Foreman PJ, Verma A, Goldsmith IL, York MK, Levin HS, Yoshor D, Mizrahi EM, Schulz PE. Semantic Memory is More Impaired in Dominant than in Nondominant Temporal Lobe Epilepsy. Society for Neuroscience (SFN), 35th Annual Meeting in Washington, DC (Nov. 12-16, 2005).
Contact Information
Paul E. Schulz, M.D.
Department of Neurology
Baylor College of Medicine
One Baylor Plaza, MS NB302
Houston, Texas 77030
Tel: 713-798-6151
Fax: 713-798-8530
Email: