Washington University in St Louis · NeuroscienceAravamuthan Lab
Bhooma Aravamuthan · Saint Louis, Missouri
Research Focus
Dr. Bhooma Aravamuthan's lab at Washington University focuses on understanding and treating dystonia, a movement disorder that often affects children born prematurely. The research explores how injuries in the brain's cortex, specifically involving a type of neuron called parvalbumin-positive interneurons, contribute to dystonia. By using innovative mouse models, the lab aims to identify predictive markers of dystonia and develop potential new therapies targeting these cortical neurons to improve treatment outcomes.
dystoniapremature birthneurologycortexinterneuronscerebral palsymouse modelsneurodevelopmentparvalbumin-positive interneurons
Research Aims
3AIM 01Investigate how cortical dysfunction predicts the onset of dystonia in mice born preterm.
AIM 02Examine the relationship between sensorimotor cortex parvalbumin-positive interneurons and striatal cholinergic interneuron activity.
AIM 03Test whether chemogenetic excitation of sensorimotor PVINs can reduce dystonia onset in preterm mice.
Skills the Lab Values
mouse modelschemogeneticselectroencephalographyfiber photometryclinical validation techniquesbehavioral assaysquantitative analysiscortical imagingexperimental design
Output against the department
Publications109bottom 38% of dept.415th of 671
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations1.2kbottom 6% of dept.629th of 671
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.