Psychology Department -> People -> Faculty Directory ->
Timothy Schallert, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
VITA
Email: TSchallert@mail.utexas.edu or TSchall@umich.edu
Phone: 423-1150 Office: SEA 5.232 Lab: ARC Annex 0.222
Schallert Lab
See also Behavioral Neuroscience, Clinical Psychology, Institute for Neuroscience, Addiction Science Research and Education Center
Tim Schallert (tschallert@mail.utexas.edu) received his Ph.D. in Behavioral Neuroscience from Arizona State University in 1976. He was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the the Canadian Center for Behaviour and Brain at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada. In 1979 he moved to The University of Texas at Austin, where he is currently a Professor in the Institute for Neuroscience and Departments of Psychology and Neurobiology. He teaches courses on the effects and mechanism of action of psychoactive drugs and brain-behavior interactions. He was elected to the Academy of Distinguished Teachers and has received several other teaching awards, including the President's Associates Teaching Excellence Award and the Amoco Foundation Teaching Award. He has served on the Executive Committee of the Institute for Neuroscience and as the Graduate Advisor for the Neuroscience Ph.D. program. He was Associate Chairman of the Dept of Psychology from 1985-1994. He is currently an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and The Center for Human Growth and Development. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, American Psychological Society and the International Behavioral Neuroscience Society, and the Academy of Distinguished Teachers. In the past 8 years, he has given over 100 invited talks about his research at universities and scientific meetings around the world. His research, on recovery of function after brain injury and treatment strategies for stroke, Parkinson's disease, brain tumors and spinal cord injury, has been funded by federal grants for over 30 years.
Research Interests
The brain and spinal cord are vulnerable to traumatic injury, stroke, tumors and degenerative diseases, often with devastating functional impairments, but at no time in the history of medicine have scientists been as optimistic as they are now about treatment strategies. Understanding how the central nervous system responds to the loss of nerve cells, and how behavior can influence the mechanisms of brain repair, is a major focus of our research.
We develop rat and mouse models of neurological disorders and strive to improve upon existing models. We have a multidisciplinary approach, with extensive collaborative arrangements with experts in other labs on campus, nationally and internationally. Collaborative research projects include searching for novel treatment interventions.
In Parkinson's disease dopamine cells degenerate, eventually leading to severe impairments of movement. Using a new model of slow degeneration, we have investigated gene therapy, drugs and motor enrichment techniques that increase growth factors in the brain. These growth factors appear to keep the dopamine cells from dying, thereby preventing the behavioral dysfunction.
Whereas skilled motor activity protects neurons, behavioral inactivity is detrimental. In cerebral stroke, Parkinson's disease, and other models of brain injury, physical activity and inactivity hasve only recently been recognized as highly influential. Behavior is often essential for cellular changes, synapse formation and neurogenesis. We look for sensitive periods after brain damage that provide unique opportunities to intervene beneficially.
We have helped to develop a new model of brain cancer. Unlike other models used to examine anti-cancer treatments, our model includes a highly sensitive behavioral analysis of brain function and neural plasticity, which are often adversely affected by traditional anti-cancer interventions. The hope is to use this model to find treatments that can shrink brain tumors without disturbing mechanisms important to optimal brain function. We also want to understand the stealth nature of brain tumors. Tumor cells slowly activate key mechanisms of plasticity which hide their presence despite ever more extensive encroachment on critical brain tissue. In collaboration with investigators at the University of Michigan and Henry Ford Neuroscience Center, we have developed promising chemical interventions that, unlike traditional treatments, appear to stop mitotic activity in tumor cells implanted in the striatum of the brain, without interfering with mechanisms of recovery of function and with a beneficial impact on behavioral outcome due to a positive effect on remaining tissue.
Selected Recent Publications
For a complete list, see VITA
Allred R, Adkins D, Woodlee MT, Kane JR, Schallert T, Jones TA (2008) Vermicelli handling: a test for fine dexterous forelimb function in rat models of stroke and parkinsonism. J. Neuroscience Methods, 170: 229-244.
Woodlee MT, Kane JR, Chang J, Cormack LK, Schallert T (2008). Enhanced gait function in the good forelimb of hemi-parkinson rats: Compensatory adaptation for contralateral postural instability. Experimental Neurology, 211: 511-517.
Spinetta MJ, Woodlee MJ, Cormack LK, Schallert K, Stroud C, Schallert T (2008) Alcohol-induced retrograde memory impairment: prevention by caffeine. Psychopharmacology, 201: 361-371.
Ciucci M, Ma TS, Schallert T (2008). Limb use and complex ultrasonic vocalization in a rat model of Parkinson's disease: Deficit-targeted training. Parkinson's Disease and Related Disorders, 14: S172-S175.
Xiong Y, Mahmood A, Lu D, Qu CS, Kazmi H, Goussev A, Zhang ZG, Noguchi, Schallert T, Chopp M. (2008) Histological and functional outcomes after traumatic brain injury in mice null for the erythropoietin receptor in the central nervous system. Brain Research, 1230: 247-257
Plane JM, Whitney JT, Schallert T, Parent JM. (2008) Retinoic acid and environmental enrichment alter subventricular zone and striatal neurogenesis after stroke. Experimental Neurology, 214: 125-134.
Kuroiwa T, Okauchi M, Hua Y, Schallert T, Keep RF, Xi G (2008) Neurological deficits and brain edema after intracerebral hemorrhage in Mongolian gerbils. Acta Neurochir Suppl 105: 127-130.
Xiong, Y., Dunyue, L., Changsheng, Q., Goussev, A., Schallert, T., Mahmood, A., Chopp, M. (2008) Effects of erythropoietin on reducing brain damage and improving functional outcome after traumatic brain injury in mice. Journal of Neurosurgery, 109: 510-521.
Zhao C, Harikainen S, Schallert T, Sivenius J, Jolkkonen J (2008) CNS-active drugs in aging population at high risk of cerebrovascular events: Evidence from preclinical and clinical studies. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 32: 56-71.
Ahrens AM, Ma ST, Maier EY, Duvauchelle CL, Schallert T. (2009) Repeated intravenous amphetamine exposure: Rapid and persistent sensitization of 50-kHz ultrasonic trill calls in rats. Behavioural Brain Research, 197: 205-209. [selected for special merit by Faculty of 1000 Biology]
Ciucci MR, Ahrens A, Ma ST, Kane JR, Windham E.B, Woodlee MT, Schallert T (2009) Reduction of dopamine synaptic activity: Degradation of 50-kHz ultrasonic vocalization in rats. Behavioral Neuroscience, 123: 328-336.
Simola N, Di Chiara G, Daniels WM, Schallert T, Morelli M (2009) Priming of rotational behavior by a dopamine receptor agonist in dopamine-denervated rats: Movement-dependent induction. Neuroscience, 158: 1625-1631.
Byler, SL, Boehm, GW, Karp, JD, Kohman, RA, Tarr, AJ, Schallert, T, & Barth, TM (2008). Systemic lipopolysaccharide plus MPTP as a model of dopamine loss and gait instability in C57Bl/6J mice. Behavioral Brain Research, 198(2):434-439.
Xiong Y, Qu C, Mahmood A, Li Z, Ning R. Li Y, Kaplan DL, Schallert T, Chopp M. (2009) Delayed transplantation of human marrow stromal cell-seeded scaffolds increases transcallosal neural fiber length, angiogenesis, and hippocampal neuronal survival and improves functional outcome after traumatic brain injury in rats. Brain Research, 1263: 183-191
Carlson ES, Tkac I, Magid R, O'Conner MB, Andrews NC, Gunshin H, Schallert T, Georgieff M (2009) Iron is essential for neuron development and memory function in mouse hippocampus. Journal of Nutrition, 139: 672-679.
Pienaar IS, Schallert T, Hattingh S, Daniels WMU (2009) Behavioral and quantitative mitochondrial proteome analyses of the effects of simvastatin: Implications for models of neural degeneration. Journal of Neural Transmission, 116 (7) 791-806 DOI 10.1007/s007-009-0247-4
Simola N, Ma ST, Schallert T (2010) Influence of caffeine on 50 kHz ultrasonic vocalizations in male adult rats and relevance to caffeine-mediated psychopharmacological effects. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol, 13: 123-132
Rojas JC, Simola N, Kermath BA, Kane JR, Schallert T, Gonzales-Lima F (2009) Striatal neuroprotection with methylene blue. Neuroscience, 163 (3) 877-889.
Hicks A, Schallert T, & Jolkkonen J (2009) Cell-based therapies and functional outcome in experimental stroke. Cell Stem Cell, 7: 139-140.
Xiong Y, Mahmood A, Meng Y, Zhang Y Qu C, Schallert T, and Chopp M. (2009) Delayed administration of erythropoietin reduces hippocampal cell loss, enhances angiogenesis and neurogenesis, and improves functional outcome following traumatic brain injury in rats: Comparison of treatment with single dose and triple dose. Journal of Neurosurgery, in press
Zhang Y, Xiong Y, Mahmood A, Meng Y, Qu C, Schallert T, Chopp M. (2009) Therapeutic effects of erythropoietin on histological and functional outcomes following traumatic brain injury in rats are independent of hematocrit. Brain Research, 1294: 153-164.
Okauchi M, Hua Y, Keep RF, Morgenstern LB, Schallert T, Xi G (2010) Deferoxamine treatment for intracerebral hemorrhage in aged rats: therapeutic time window and optimal duration. Stroke, 41, 375-382.
Ma ST, Maier EY, Ahrens AM, Schallert T and Duvauchelle CL (2010) Repeated intravenous cocaine experience: Development and escalation of pre-drug anticipatory 50-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations in rats. Behavioral Brain Research, 212: 109-114.
Britt JM, Kane JR, Spaeth CS, Zuzek A, Robinson GL, Gbanaglo MY, Estler C, Boydston EA Schallert T, Bittner GD (2010) Polyethylene glycol rapidly restores axonal integrity and improves the rate of motor behavior recovery after sciatic crush injury. Journal of Neurophysiology, 104: 695-703.
Ciucci MR, Russell J, Conner N & Schallert T (2010) Targeted exercise therapy for voice and swallow in persons with Parkinson's disease. Brain Research, in press.
Maier EY, Ahrens AM, Ma ST, Schallert T, CL Duvauchelle CL (2010) Cocaine deprivation effect: Cue abstinence over weekends boosts anticipatory 50-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations in rats. Behavioural Brain Research, 214, 75-79.
Maier, E. Y., Ma, S.T., Ahrens, A.M., Schallert, T., Duvauchelle, C.L. (2010). Assessment of ultrasonic vocalizations during drug self-administration in rats. Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE): http://www.jove.com/index/details.stp?id=2041
Carlson ES, Fretham SJB, Unger E, O'Conner M, Petryk A, Schallert T, Rao R, Tkac I, Georgieff MK (2010). Hippocampus specific iron deficiency alters competition and cooperation between developing memory systems. Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, 2: 133-143.
Xiong Y, Mahmood A, Qu CS, Schallert T. Chopp M. (2010) Erythropoietin improves histological and functional outcomes after traumatic brain injury in mice in the absence of the neural erythropoietin receptor. Journal of Neurotrauma, 27: 205-215.
Kane JR, Ma ST, Ciucci M, Ahrens AM, Schallert T (2011) Fine oro-motor control in a rat model of Parkinson's disease. Journal of Communication Disorders, in press.
Maier EY, Abdalla MI, Ahrens AM, Schallert T, Duvauchelle CL (2011) The missing variable: Ultrasonic vocalizations reveal hidden sensitization and tolerance-like effects during long-term cocaine administration. Psychopharmacology, in press.
Gil-Perotin S, Haines JD, Jasbir K, Marin-Husstege M, Spinetta MJ, Kim K-H, Duran-Moreno M, Schallert T, Zindy F, Roussel M, Garcia-Verdugo JM, Casaccia P (2011) Roles of p53 and p27Kip1 in the regulation of neurogenesis in the adult subventricular zone. European Journal of Neuroscience, in press.
