Austin Lim

Classes Taught

• Brain and Behavior
• Physiological Psychology
• Neuroscience Research Methods
• Neuropharmacology of Drugs
• Cellular Neurobiology
• Introduction to Neuroscience

Research Interests

My primary interest in neurobiology is to understand the circuitry of a brain region called the "striatum". The striatum is important for everyday functions such as motor learning, decision making, and motivation. Improper neuronal signaling in the striatum is related to a wide variety of disorders, including Parkinson's disease, addiction, schizophrenia, and OCD. Getting a clearer picture of the way parts of the brain communicate with the striatum will help us develop therapies for these disorders.

Education

• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) The University of Chicago (2008 — 2014)
• Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) Northwestern University (2003 — 2007)

Select Publications

Lim, Austin, "Open Neuroscience Initiative" (2021). College of Science and Health Full Text Publications.

Lim, SAO., Surmeier, DJ. Enhanced GABAergic Inhibition of Cholinergic Interneurons in the zQ175 +/- Mouse Model of Huntington's Disease. Front Syst Neurosci.​ 2021. Jan 20;14: 626412.

Striatal cholinergic interneurons and Parkinson's disease. Tanimura A, Pancani T, Lim SAO, Tubert C, Melendez AE, Shen W, Surmeier DJ. Eur J Neurosci. 2018 May;47(10):1148-1158.

Enhanced histamine H2 excitation of striatal cholinergic interneurons in L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia. Lim SAO, Xia R, Ding Y, Won L, Ray WJ, Hitchcock SA, McGehee DS, Kang UJ. Neurobiol Dis. 2015 Apr;76:67-76.

Enhanced striatal cholinergic neuronal activity mediates L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia in parkinsonian mice. Ding Y, Won L, Britt JP, Lim SA, McGehee DS, Kang UJ. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011 Jan 11;108(2):840-5.