Göttingen Graduate Center for Neurosciences, Biophysics, and Molecular Biosciences

Paulus, Walter, Prof. Dr.

Professor of Clinical Neurophysiology


  • Dr. med., University of Düsseldorf, 1978
  • Training in Neurology at the Universities of Düsseldorf, UCL London, and Munich
  • Habilitation (Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology) in Munich
  • Professor and Head of the Department of Clinical Neurophysiology 1992



Major Research Interests

We intend to understand and modulate cortical plasticity in man. This is mainly done on a behavioural, imaging and electrophysiological level. We use (motor) learning paradigms, evaluate them by behavioural techniques and by recording EMG; EEG or fMRI data in the context with connectivity analyses. We develop and/or apply stimulation techniques such as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), transcranial direct current stimulation, alternating current stimulation or random noise stimulation (tDCS, tACS, tRNS). TMS induces a short electric current in the human brain. Both rTMS and electric stimulation techniques offer the prospect of inducing LTD and LTP like effects in the human brain. Diseases in our focus are Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, migraine, stroke and dystonia.
The Department of Clinical Neurophysiology pursues other research areas such as Neurorehabilitation in conjunction with the Bernstein Centre of Computational Neuroscience and with the Company Otto Bock. Another focus concerns Hereditary Neuropathies in collaboration with the MPI for Experimental Medicine, speech disorders with a focus on stuttering and others (overview researcher ID A-3544-2009).


Homepage Department/Research Group

http://www.neurologie.uni-goettingen.de/


Selected Recent Publications


  • Alekseichuk et al., (2016) Spatial Working Memory in Humans Depends on Theta and High Gamma Synchronization in the Prefrontal Cortex. Current Biology 26, 1513-1521.
  • U. Voss, R. Holzmann, A. Hobson, W. Paulus, J. Koppehele-Gossel, A. Klimke and M. A. Nitsche: Induction of self awareness in dreams through frontal low current stimulation of gamma activity. Nat Neurosci, 17(6), 810-2 (2014)
  • W. Paulus: Transcranial brain stimulation: potential and limitations. e-Neuroforum (2014) doi:DOI 10.1007/s13295-014-0056-6
  • M. Sommer, C. Norden, L. Schmack, H. Rothkegel, N. Lang and W. Paulus: Opposite optimal current flow directions for induction of neuroplasticity and excitation threshold in the human motor cortex. Brain Stimul, 6(3), 363-70 (2013)
  • Polanía R, Nitsche MA, Korman C, Batsikadze G, Paulus W (2012) The importance of timing in segregated theta phase-coupling for cognitive performance. Curr Biol. 22:1314-8
  • Antal A, Polania R, Schmidt-Samoa C, Dechent P, Paulus W. (2011) Transcranial direct current stimulation over the primary motor cortex during fMRI. Neuroimage. 2011 Mar 15;55(2):590-6
  • Moliadze V, Antal A, Paulus W. Boosting brain excitability by transcranial high frequency stimulation in the ripple range. J Physiol. 2010 588: 4891-904
  • Nitsche MA, Kuo MF, Karrasch R, Wächter B, Liebetanz D, Paulus W (2009) Serotonin affects transcranial direct current-induced neuroplasticity in humans. BIOL PSYCHIAT, 66(5): 503-8