Sonia Cavigelli
Chair, Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Neuroscience; Associate Professor of Biobehavioral Health
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258B Health and Human Development
University Park, PA - sac34@psu.edu
- 814-863-0210
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
- Neuroscience Institute
- Center for Brain, Behavior, and Cognition
- Neuroscience
- Center for Neurotechnology in Mental Health Research
- Integrative and Biomedical Physiology
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
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
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
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
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