Felix Plaut was a German psychiatrist

Psychiatrist

A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...

 who was director of the Department of Serology

Serology

Serology is the scientific study of blood serum and other bodily fluids. In practice, the term usually refers to the diagnostic identification of antibodies in the serum...

 at the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Psychiatrie in Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

. In 1935 he was removed from this position by the Nazis, and subsequently emigrated to London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

.

Plaut is remembered for his research concerning the syphilitic

Syphilis

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The primary route of transmission is through sexual contact; however, it may also be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy or at birth, resulting in congenital syphilis...

 origin of general paresis

Paresis

Paresis is a condition typified by partial loss of voluntary movement or by impaired movement. When used without qualifiers, it usually refers to the limbs, but it also can be used to describe the muscles of the eyes , the stomach , and also the vocal cords...

, and his work with August von Wasserman (1866-1925) in the development of a serological

Serology

Serology is the scientific study of blood serum and other bodily fluids. In practice, the term usually refers to the diagnostic identification of antibodies in the serum...

 test for syphilis. Plaut also performed extensive research of syphilis and its correlation to psychiatric disorders, and did early studies in neuroimmunology

Neuroimmunology

Neuroimmunology is a field combining neuroscience, the study of the nervous system, and immunology, the study of the immune system. Neuroimmunologists seek to better understand the interactions of these two complex systems during development, homeostasis, and response to injuries...

 regarding the brain

Brain

The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...

's immune reaction to syphilitic infiltration.

Selected writings

• The Wasserman Sero-Diagnosis of Syphilis in its Application to Psychiatry, translated by S. E. Jelliffe and L. Casamajor (1911); originally published in German in 1909.
• Leitfaden zur Untersuchung der Zerebospinalflüssigkeit. Jena: Verlag von Gustav Fischer, (1913). 1st Edition
• 4 Fälle aus der Deutschen Forschungsanstalt für Psychiatrie; with Walther Spielmeyer
  Walther Spielmeyer
  Walther Spielmeyer was a German neuropathologist who was a native of Dessau. He studied medicine at the University of Halle under Eduard Hitzig , and in 1906 went to Freiburg, where he was an assistant to Alfred Hoche...
  
  : In Franz Nissl
  Franz Nissl
  Franz Nissl was a German medical researcher. He was a noted neuropathologist.-Early life:...
  
  ’s Beiträge, volume 2, 1; Berlin, (1923).