Dr. Carter is a Professor of Psychiatry and the Co-Director of the Brain Body Center. She studies the neurobiology of monogamy, social bonds and parental behavior. Her research established how the biological basis of monogamy should be analyzed, and established the prairie vole as the major model for examining the biology of adult social bonds. She and her colleagues have identified the role of brain hormones, including oxytocin and vasopressin, in pair bond formation. She has also discovered that oxytocin and vasopressin can program the developing nervous system with life-long consequences for brain and behavior. Dr. Carter co-edited “Attachment and Bonding: A New Synthesis”, “The Integrative Neurobiology of Affiliation”, “Is There a Neurobiology of Love”, a special issue of the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology, and 2 other volumes. Dr. Carter received her doctorate in Zoology from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. She has authored and/or coauthored over 250 research articles and chapters. She formally held the rank of Distinguished University Professor in Biology at the University of Maryland, and Professor of Psychology, Ecology, Ethology and Evolution at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
Awards and Credentials
- President of the International Behavioral Neuroscience Society, 2004-2005
- Wayner-NNOXe Pharmaceutical Award for Outstanding Scientific Research, awarded by the International Behavioral Neuroscience Society 2009
- Research Career Scientist Award, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, 1993-1998.
- A career-long history of research funding from the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health
Related Links
Recommended Reading List
- Monogamy and the prairie vole. Carter, C. S., et al. 1993. Scientific American, 268, 100-106.
- Neuroendocrine perspectives on social attachment and love. Carter, C. S. 1998. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 23, 779-818.
- Attachment and Bonding: A New Synthesis. Carter, C. S. et al., MIT Press. 2005
