Alexxai Kravitz
Associate Professor of Psychiatry
- Phone: 314-273-7956
- Email: alexxai@nospam.wustl.edu
Additional Titles & Roles
- Associate Professor of Psychiatry
- Associate Professor of Neuroscience
- Associate Professor of Anesthesiology
Education & Training
- PhD: University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 2009
Research Interests
Dr. Kravitz is interested in the study of basal ganglia circuits and how their function changes in disease states such as obesity, addiction, and anxiety disorders. Under normal conditions, the basal ganglia drives animals toward the selection of adaptive behavioral outcomes. Learning can bias this selection process toward specific behavior by altering synapses within and outside the basal ganglia. Unfortunately, these same synaptic alterations can be hijacked by disease, resulting in unhealthy behavioral outputs, such as in obesity and drug addiction. Using high throughput behavioral testing, optogenetics, and electrical and optical brain recordings, the Kravitz lab characterizes changes in behavior in animal models of disease, and attempts to understand the neural correlates and causes of these changes.
Key Publications
- Bariselli S, Fobbs WC, Creed MC, Kravitz AV, (2019 Jun). A competitive model for striatal action selection. Brain Res.. 1713: 70-79.
Read publication »A competitive model for striatal action selection. - Nguyen KP, O’Neal TJ, Bolonduro OA, White E, Kravitz AV, (2016 07). Feeding Experimentation Device (FED): A flexible open-source device for measuring feeding behavior. J. Neurosci. Methods. 267: 108-14.
Read publication »Feeding Experimentation Device (FED): A flexible open-source device for measuring feeding behavior. - London TD, Licholai JA, Szczot I, Ali MA, LeBlanc KH, Fobbs WC, Kravitz AV, (2018 Apr). Coordinated Ramping of Dorsal Striatal Pathways preceding Food Approach and Consumption. J. Neurosci.. 38(14): 3547-3558.
Read publication »Coordinated Ramping of Dorsal Striatal Pathways preceding Food Approach and Consumption. - Friend DM, Devarakonda K, O’Neal TJ, Skirzewski M, Papazoglou I, Kaplan AR, Liow JS, Guo J, Rane SG, Rubinstein M, Alvarez VA, Hall KD, Kravitz AV, (2017 02). Basal Ganglia Dysfunction Contributes to Physical Inactivity in Obesity. Cell Metab.. 25(2): 312-321.
Read publication »Basal Ganglia Dysfunction Contributes to Physical Inactivity in Obesity. - Kravitz AV, Tye LD, Kreitzer AC, (2012 Jun). Distinct roles for direct and indirect pathway striatal neurons in reinforcement. Nat. Neurosci.. 15(6): 816-8.
Read publication »Distinct roles for direct and indirect pathway striatal neurons in reinforcement. - Kravitz AV, Freeze BS, Parker PR, Kay K, Thwin MT, Deisseroth K, Kreitzer AC, (2010 Jul). Regulation of parkinsonian motor behaviours by optogenetic control of basal ganglia circuitry. Nature. 466(7306): 622-6.
Read publication »Regulation of parkinsonian motor behaviours by optogenetic control of basal ganglia circuitry.