Sonia Cavigelli

Chair, Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Neuroscience; Associate Professor of Biobehavioral Health


Sonia Cavigelli

Research Summary

Development of temperament/personality; relationship of temperament and social status to stress and health; individual differences in stress and health in the natural environment.

Huck Affiliations

Links

Most Recent Publications

Chronic Adolescent Restraint Stress Downregulates miRNA-200a Expression in Male and Female C57BL/6J and BALB/cJ Mice

Helen Kamens, Emma K. Anziano, William J. Horton, Sonia A. Cavigelli, 2024, Genes on p. 873

Effects of limited bedding and nesting on postpartum mood state in rats

Janace J. Gifford, Jenna R. Pluchino, Rebecca Della Valle, Brooke Van Weele, Emma Brezoczky, Jasmine I. Caulfield, Sonia A. Cavigelli, Jaclyn M. Schwarz, 2023, Journal of Neuroendocrinology

How do we characterize temperament? Broad testing of temperament across time and contexts in low-variable conditions

Elyse K. McMahon, Saaniya Farhan, Sonia A. Cavigelli, 2023, Animal Behaviour on p. 29-42

Chronic Sleep Deprivation Blocks Voluntary Morphine Consumption but Not Conditioned Place Preference in Mice

Darrell Eacret, Crystal Lemchi, Jasmine I. Caulfield, Sonia A. Cavigelli, Sigrid C. Veasey, Julie A. Blendy, 2022, Frontiers in Neuroscience

The Effect of Stress on Opioid Addiction-Related Behaviors: A Review of Preclinical Literature

Helen Kamens, Geneva Flarend, G #Flarend, Anna Wickenheisser, A #Wickenheisser, William Horton, Sonia A. Cavigelli, 2022, Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology

The impact of adolescent stress on nicotine use and affective disorders in rodent models

Sean M. Mooney-Leber, Michael *Caruso, Michael J. Caruso, Thomas J. Gould, Sonia A. Cavigelli, Helen M. Kamens, 2022, European Journal of Neuroscience on p. 2196-2215

Next steps in integrative biology: Mapping interactive processes across levels of biological organization

Sonia Cavigelli, Jeff Leips, Jenny Xiang, Dawn Lemke, Nikolai Konow, 2022, INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY on p. 2066-2074

A physiological profile approach to animal temperament: How to understand the functional significance of individual differences in behaviour

Elyse K. McMahon, Elizabeth Youatt, Sonia A. Cavigelli, 2022, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Next Steps in Integrative Biology: Mapping Interactive Processes Across Levels of Biological Organization

Sonia Cavigelli, Jeff Leips, Qiu Yun (Jenny) Xiang, Dawn Lemke, Nicolai Konow, 2021, Integrative and Comparative Biology on p. 2066-2074

Gaps to Address in Ecological Studies of Temperament and Physiology

Elyse K. McMahon, Sonia A. Cavigelli, 2021, Integrative and Comparative Biology on p. 1917-1932

Most-Cited Papers

Sex, social status and physiological stress in primates: The importance of social and glucocorticoid dynamics

Sonia A. Cavigelli, Michael J. Caruso, 2015, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Chronic unpredictable stress during adolescence causes long-term anxiety

L. E. Chaby, S. A. Cavigelli, A. M. Hirrlinger, M. J. Caruso, V. A. Braithwaite, 2015, Behavioural Brain Research on p. 492-495

Adolescent social stress increases anxiety-like behavior and ethanol consumption in adult male and female C57BL/6J mice

M. J. Caruso, L. R. Seemiller, T. B. Fetherston, C. N. Miller, D. E. Reiss, S. A. Cavigelli, H. M. Kamens, 2018, Scientific Reports

Genetic factors mediate the impact of chronic stress and subsequent response to novel acute stress

Elena E. Terenina, Sonia Cavigelli, Pierre Mormede, Wenyuan Zhao, Cory Parks, Lu Lu, Byron C. Jones, Megan K. Mulligan, 2019, Frontiers in Neuroscience

Ancestry trumps experience: Transgenerational but not early life stress affects the adult physiological stress response

Gail L. McCormick, Travis R. Robbins, Sonia A. Cavigelli, Tracy Langkilde, 2017, Hormones and Behavior on p. 115-121

Chronic stress during adolescence impairs and improves learning and memory in adulthood

Lauren E. Chaby, Sonia A. Cavigelli, Amy M. Hirrlinger, James Lim, Kendall M. Warg, Victoria A. Braithwaite, 2015, Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience

Timing matters: the interval between acute stressors within chronic mild stress modifies behavioral and physiologic stress responses in male rats

Sonia A. Cavigelli, Alexander D. Bao, Rebecca A. Bourne, Michael J. Caruso, Jasmine I. Caulfield, Mary Chen, Joshua M. Smyth, 2018, Stress on p. 453-463

Adolescent Social Stress Increases Anxiety-like Behavior and Alters Synaptic Transmission, Without Influencing Nicotine Responses, in a Sex-Dependent Manner

Michael J. Caruso, Nicole Crowley, Dana E. Reiss, Jasmine I. Caulfield, Bernhard Luscher, Sonia Angele Cavigelli, Helen Marie Kamens, 2018, Neuroscience on p. 182-198

Exposure to chronic variable social stress during adolescence alters affect-related behaviors and adrenocortical activity in adult male and female inbred mice

Michael J. Caruso, Helen M. Kamens, Sonia A. Cavigelli, 2017, Developmental Psychobiology on p. 679-687

Individual differences in glucocorticoid regulation: Does it relate to disease risk and resilience?

Jasmine I. Caulfield, Sonia A. Cavigelli, 2020, Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology

News Articles Featuring Sonia Cavigelli

Jul 28, 2026

Huck Institutes announces recipients of nine interdisciplinary seed grants

Penn State’s Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences has awarded nine research teams seed funding for 2026-27. These grants support high-impact, innovative research projects that align with the Huck’s strategic research priorities and have the potential to drive scientific breakthroughs and generate significant return on investment.

Full Article

May 28, 2025

Researchers Uncover Mechanisms Linking the Brain and Lungs in Asthma

Stronger stress responses in threat-sensitive brain regions were associated with greater allergen-induced inflammatory responses in the lungs.

Full Article

Apr 07, 2023

CBBC Announces Student Travel Award

The Center for Brain, Behavior, and Cognition (CBBC) at Penn State is pleased to announce a center-specific travel award for a student that will present their own research on integrative mechanisms of behavior or cognition at a national or international scientific conference.

Full Article

Sep 25, 2018

Childhood Asthma Is Linked To Developing Anxiety As An Adult, According To New Research In Mice

Penn State researchers say that chronic lung inflammation associated with childhood asthma is linked to developing anxiety as an adult, according to new research in mice. Published in the journal Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, the study shows that ongoing exposure to allergens in childhood was associated with chronic lung inflammation, which was also linked to genetic changes related to stress and serotonin production. The study also found that asthma attacks contributed to episodes of anxiety.

Full Article