Expertise

Topics:  Movement Disorders, Optogenetics, Neuroscience, Electrophysiology, Neural Circuits

Industries: Health and Wellness, Education/Learning, Research

Aryn Gittis received her Ph.D. from UCSD in 2008 where she studied the vestibular system in the lab of Sascha du Lac. From 2008-2012 she was a postdoc with Anatol Kreitzer at the Gladstone Institute/UCSF where she began her studies of basal ganglia circuitry and its plasticity in disease. She started her lab at CMU in 2012 in the Department of Biological Sciences and the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition and is now an Associate Professor.

The Gittis lab studies the neural basis of motor control in health and disease. Using mouse models of Parkinson’s disease, our lab has identified cellular nodes where optogenetic interventions promote long-lasting recovery of movement in the disease state. Current studies seek to understand the broader motor circuits in which these nodes function, using a combination of behavior, electrophysiology, and anatomical approaches. We are also innovating new experimental models for the study of network compensation during progressive dopamine loss, and how these compensatory mechanisms preserve, or possible paradoxically exacerbate symptoms of movement disorders.

Media Experience

Basal Ganglia Pathway Key to Learning, Not Motor Control  — Neuroscience News
In a paper published in Neuron, Aryn Gittis and colleagues present new information about a neural pathway in the basal ganglia, a part of the brain important for skill learning, habit formation and motor control. The paper contradicts the model that has guided researchers’ understanding of motor learning for 30 years.

Neuroscientists Gain New Understanding of Neural Pathway  — Carnegie Mellon University News
In a paper published in Neuron(opens in new window), Aryn Gittis(opens in new window) and colleagues present new information about a neural pathway in the basal ganglia, a part of the brain important for skill learning, habit formation and motor control. The paper contradicts the model that has guided researchers’ understanding of motor learning for 30 years.

Research shows promising results for Parkinson's disease treatment  — EurekAlert!
Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University have found a way to make deep brain stimulation (DBS) more precise, resulting in therapeutic effects that outlast what is currently available. The work, led by Aryn Gittis and colleagues in CMU’s Gittis Lab, will significantly advance the study of Parkinson’s disease.

New Technique Isolates Brain Cells Associated With Parkinson's Disease  — Carnegie Mellon University News
In this case, the research team focused on parvalbumin-expressing (PV+) neurons, which have been implicated in Parkinson's disease by the lab of Aryn Gittis, associate professor of biological sciences. Mice with Parkinson's symptoms regain motor control and their ability to run around when these cells are stimulated.

Carnegie Mellon's Aryn Gittis named finalist for Science & PINS Prize  — EurekAlert!
Carnegie Mellon University neuroscientist Aryn Gittis was named a finalist for the Science & PINS Prize for Neuromodulation for her discovery of new therapeutic targets for Parkinson's disease.