Dr. Christopher Pittenger

Biography

Christopher Pittenger is a Jameson Professor in the Department of Psychology at Yale University. His research focuses on the basal ganglia, a network of brain structures implicated in neuropsychiatric conditions such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, Tourette syndrome, and drug addiction. Through his research laboratory, he aims to understand the mechanisms underlying basal ganglia-dependent habit-like learning and how perturbations in this system can lead to symptoms associated with psychiatric diseases. He directs the Yale OCD Research Clinic, where he investigates the biology of obsessive-compulsive disorder and works on developing new treatments. A significant part of his ongoing research explores the role of glutamate, a neurotransmitter involved in the basal ganglia, and how drugs targeting glutamate may benefit OCD patients who have not responded to standard therapies. Pittenger's work includes both behavioral and neurophysiological studies in animal models to recapitulate the biology of diseases like Tourette syndrome.

Research Interests