Psychology

John Capitanio

Research Psychologist

Curriculum Vitae

Teaching

Dr. Capitanio's interests are in the causes and consequences of individual variation in temperament/personality in nonhuman primates.  Research involving numerous students and collaborators has explored causes as diverse as monoaminergic genotype, prenatal experiences, exposure to pharmacological substances, and energy content and cortisol concentrations in mothers' milk.  Outcomes that have been (and are being) examined include health outcomes (asthma, simian immunodeficiency virus infection, and colitis), as well as mechanisms relevant to these diseases, including glucocorticoid regulation of immune function, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal regulation, immune cell gene expression, inflammation, and aspects of lymph node biology.  A strong emphasis throughout his research is on behavior and social processes, and how they shape, buffer, and constrain physiological processes.