Christopher Coe
PhD, State University of New York, Brooklyn
Professor, Psychology

Contact Information:
UW-Madison
153 Primate Lab, Harlow
22 N. Charter Street
Madison, WI 53715
Phone: (608) 263-3550
E-mail: ccoe@wisc.edu

Research Statement

It has become increasingly evident that the in utero environment not only affects fetal development, but can also have a lasting influence on postnatal development. Our research program has been investigating several aspects of this relationship using a nonhuman primate model. For example, we have been studying the influence of fetal weight gain and infant birth weight on postnatal growth and later reproductive health (Price, Hyde, & Coe, 1999; Price & Coe, 2000). In addition, we have been exploring the significance of the prenatal transfer of maternal iron stores to the fetus, as a predictor of risk for the development of iron deficiency anemia in the infant during the first year of life. Our studies are assessing how anemia may influence the maturation of brain dopamine systems, and the rate of myelination of neuronal pathways in the developing infant (Geguchadze, Coe, Lubach, Clardy, Beard, & Connor, 2008). Finally, in other experiments we have been assessing how maternal stress during pregnancy may affect the maturation of the infant's immune system, and the risk for viral infection after birth. These studies are also evaluating the possible effects of maternal flu infection during pregnancy on the development of several sensitive brain regions in the baby, especially with regard to the significance of the gestational timing of the infection.

Among the many mechanisms implicated in mediating the influence of prenatal factors on postnatal development is a disruption of the normal asymmetry of the body, and especially in the brain. Another facet of our research program concerns the relationship between asymmetrical activation patterns of the cerebral cortex and the immune system. These immune studies have been conducted in both healthy human subjects, as well as individuals that had experienced unilateral hemispheric damage in the perinatal period or young adulthood. Persistent alterations in the physiological set points for certain immune responses have been found. (Rogers, Coe, & Karaszewski, 1998).

Representative Publications

Coe CL, Lubach GR, Bianco L, Beard JL. (2009) A history of iron deficiency anemia during infancy alters brain monoamine activity later in juvenile monkeys. Developmental Psychobiology. 2009 Apr;51(3):301-9.

Shirtcliff EA, Coe CL, Pollak SD. (2009) Early childhood stress is associated with elevated antibody levels to herpes simplex virus type 1. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA. Feb 24;106(8):2963-7.

Geguchadze RN, Coe CL, Lubach GR, Clardy TW, Beard JL, Connor JR. (2008) . CSF proteomic analysis reveals persistent iron deficiency-induced alterations in non-human primate infants. Journal of Neurochemistry. Apr;105(1):127-36.

Lubach GR, Coe CL. (2008) Selective impairment of cognitive performance in the young monkey following recovery from iron deficiency. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. Feb;29(1):11-7.

Coe CL, Laudenslager ML. (2007) Psychosocial influences on immunity, including effects on immune maturation and senescence. Brain, Behavior and Immunity. Nov;21(8):1000-8.

Coe CL, Lubach GR, Shirtcliff EA. (2007) Maternal stress during pregnancy predisposes for iron deficiency in infant monkeys impacting innate immunity. Pediatric Research. May;61(5 Pt 1):520-4.

Willette AA, Lubach GR, Coe CL. (2007) Environmental context differentially affects behavioral, leukocyte, cortisol, and interleukin-6 responses to low doses of endotoxin in the rhesus monkey. Brain, Behavior and Immunity. Aug;21(6):807-15.

Hodgson, DM and Coe, CL (2006) Perinatal Programming: Early Life Determinants of Adult Health and Disease. Taylor and Francis, London.

Coe, C.L., & Lubach, G.R. (2000) Prenatal influences on neuroimmune set points in infancy. Annals NY Academy of Sciences, 917: 468-477.

Davidson, R.J., Coe, C.L., Dolski, I, & Donzella, B. (1999) Individual differences in prefrontal activation asymmetry predict natural killer cell activity at rest and in response to challenge. Brain, Behavior and Immunity 13: 93-108.

Price, K.C. & Coe, C.L. (2000) Maternal constraint on foetal growth patterns in the rhesus monkey: the intergenerational link between mothers and daughters. Human Reproduction 15(2): 452-457.

Rogers, S.L., Coe, C.L., & Karaszewski, J. W. (1998) Immune consequences of stroke and cerebral palsy in adults. Journal of Neuroimmunology 91: 113-120.