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You are here: Home > Directories > Faculty > Karen M. Grewen, Ph.D.

Karen M. Grewen, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Grewen

Email:  karen_grewen@med.unc.edu

Office 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.

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, Anderson BJ, Girdler SS, & Light KC (2003). Warm partner contact is related to lower cardiovascular reactivity. Behavioral Medicine, 29:123-130.

2. Grewen KM, Girdler SS, Hinderliter AL, & Light KC (2004). Depressive symptoms are related to higher ambulatory blood pressure in persons with a family history of hypertension. Psychosomatic Medicine, 66:9-16.

3. Light KC, Grewen KM, Amico JA, Boccia M, Brownley KA, & Johns JM (2004). Deficits in plasma oxytocin responses and increased negative affect, stress and blood pressure in mothers with cocaine exposure during pregnancy. Addictive Behaviors, 29(8):1541-1564.

4. Light KC, Grewen KM, & Amico JA (2005). More frequent partner hugs and higher oxytocin levels are linked to lower blood pressure and heart rate in premenopausal women. Biological Psychology, 69(1):5-21.

5. Grewen KM, Girdler SS, Amico JA, & Light KC (2005). Effects of partner support on resting oxytocin, cortisol, norepinephrine and blood pressure before and after warm partner contact. Psychosomatic Medicine, 67:531-538.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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