Email: karen_grewen@med.unc.edu

Phone: (919) 966-2544

Education:

B.A., Psychology, University of San Francisco
M.A., Biological Psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Ph.D., Biological Psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Postdoctoral Fellowship, Cardiovascular Behavioral Medicine, University of Pittsburgh

Summary Statement:

Dr. Grewen examines the effects of social affiliation and stress on endocrine, neural, and cardiovascular activity, with a focus on potential biologic mediators. A primary focus is on the affiliative hormone, oxytocin, measured in blood, urine and saliva. She is most interested in exploring the mechanisms by which positive social interactions between couples, mother-infant, and father-infant dyads translate into physiological responses that influence long term health.

Research Interests:

Her current research focuses on the effects of prenatal cocaine and nicotine exposures on neurobiological correlates of mother-infant attachment formation. This includes examination of maternal responses to infant contact, fMRI study of maternal brain activity which may be altered by perinatal drug use, MRI and EEG study of infant brain development, and prenatal exposure effects on infant behaviors including the quality of infants’ attention-eliciting signals (infant cry characteristics, behavior during mother-infant interactions). She is also researching the potential utility of non-invasive methods of assessing oxytocin and vasopressin activity from urine and saliva samples

Representative Publications:

1. Grewen, KM, Davenport, RE, and Light, KC (2009). An investigation of plasma and salivary oxytocin responses in breast- and formula-feeding mothers of infants. Psychophysiology, 2010 Jan 22. [Epub ahead of print]PMID: 20102537

2. Grewen KM, Light KC, Mechlin MB, & Girdler SS (2007). Ethnicity is associated with alterations in oxytocin relationships to pain sensitivity in women. Ethnicity and Health, 13(3):219-41.

3. Grewen KM, Girdler SS, & Light KC (2005). Relationship quality: Effects on ambulatory blood pressure and negative affect in a biracial sample of men and women. Blood Pressure Monitoring, 10(3):117-124.