College of Science and Health > Faculty & Staff > Faculty A-Z > sean-austin-lim

Austin Lim

  • ​​​

  • austin.lim@depaul.edu
  • Associate Teaching Professor
  • Ph.D.​
  • Neuroscience
  • 773-325-4937
  • ​McGowan-North 131
Classes Taught
  • Brain and Behavior (BIO 126)
  • Physiological Psychology (PSY 377)
  • Physiological Processes (PSY 406)
  • The Brain Through Science Fiction (NEU 120)
  • Introduction to Neuroscience (NEU 201)
  • Neuroscience Research Methods (NEU 280)
  • Seminar in Neuropsychopharmacology (NEU 310)
  • Cellular Neurobiology (NEU 339 / BIO 339)
  • Movement Neuroscience (NEU 351)
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.

Select Publications


Lim, Austin, "Open Neuroscience Initiative" (2021). College of Science and Health Full Text Publications. 2. https://via.library.depaul.edu/cshtextbooks/2)

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. doi: 10.3389/fnsys.2020.626412. PMID: 33551760; PMCID: PMC7854471.​

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.