RESEARCH INTERESTS
Broadly speaking, my work explores the intersections between our brains and our bodies. These are two-way roads; our mental state can affect our physical health and infection and inflammation can affect our behavior and emotions. Because of this, it's no surprise that these connections are highly important for our health and well-being.
Brain/body connections are relevant to a number of different behaviors, states, and physiological processes, including sleep, pain, and sickness behavior -- a set of changes in mood and behavior during infection found in humans and a wide variety of other animals.
Because humans are highly social creatures with complex and varied cultures -- and because culture can affect both our biology and the way that we interpret physical and emotional sensations -- I use an anthropological framework that focuses on human biological and cultural variation. I also use insights and methods from several complementary fields, including psychoneuroimmunology and behavioral endocrinology, in my research.
Published Papers
2024
Fernandez E, Perez B, Sun R, Kolaparthi K, Pham T, Iwuala E, Garza R, Shattuck EC, Wu W. Anger treatment via CBAT delivered remotely: outcomes on psychometric and self-monitored measures of anger. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy 31, e2907. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.2907
2023
Makhanova A, Lambert WA, Blanchard R, Alcock J, Shattuck EC, Wilson MP. Pathogen disgust is association with interpersonal bias among healthcare professionals. Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health 11, 438-447. https://doi.org/10.1093/emph/eoad036
Slavich GM, Roos LG, Moriarity DP, Webb C, Shattuck EC, Mengelkoch S, Alley JC. Social safety theory: conceptual foundation and future directions. Health Psychology Review 17, 5-59. https://doi.org/10.1080/17437199.2023.2171900
McKinnon, L**, Shattuck EC, Samson, DR. Sound reasons for unsound sleep: Comparative support for the sentinel hypothesis in industrial and nonindustrial groups. Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health, eoac039. https://doi.org/10.1093/emph/eoac039
Muehlenbein MP, Gassen J, Shattuck EC, Sparks C. Lower testosterone levels are associated with higher risk of death in men. Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1093/emph/eoac044
Fernandez E, Pham T**, Kolaparthi K**, Sun R**, Perez B**, Iwuala E**, Wu W, Shattuck EC. Parameters of anger related to components of pain. Scandinavian Journal of Pain 23, 284-290. https://doi.org/10.1515/sjpain-2022-0131
Gibb JK**, Spake L, McKinnon L**, Shattuck EC, McKerracher L. Sexual minority status is associated with earlier recalled age of menarche: evidence from the 2005-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. American Journal of Human Biology: e23835. doi: 10.1002/ajhb.23825
2022
Ceballos NA, Westerberg C, Graham R, Shattuck EC, Perrotte J. Blackouts and hangover experiences among Hispanic and non-Hispanic White college students. Addictive Behaviors Reports 16:100466. doi: 10.1016/j.abrep.2022.100446
Shattuck EC, Ramos Herrera IM, Sunil TS. Presenteeism among healthcare providers, staff, and students in Jalisco, Mexico: a descriptive study. Cureus 14: e28533. doi:10.7759/cureus.28533
Shattuck EC, Sparks CS. Sleep duration is related to increased mortality risk through white blood cell counts in a large national sample. American Journal of Human Biology e23574. doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.23574
Fernandez, E, Wu W, Shattuck EC, Kolaparthi K**. Sensory and affective descriptors of pain as predictors of functional impairment and psychosocial disability. Journal of Pain. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2022.04.002
2021
Shattuck EC. Networks, cultures, and institutions: toward a social immunology. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity – Health 18:100367. doi.org/10.1016/j.bbih.2021.100367
Shattuck EC, Perrotte JK, Daniels CL**, Xu X, Sunil TS. Signaling sickness: the role of sickness behavior and cultural context. Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health:eoab017. doi.org/10.1093/emph/eoab017
Perrotte JK, Shattuck EC, Daniels CL, Xu X, Sunil TS. A latent profile analysis of the link between sociocultural factors and health-related risk-taking among US adults. BMC Public Health 21:546. doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-10608-z
Gibb JK, Shattuck EC. Sexual orientation-based disparities in bone health: evidence of reduced bone mineral density and mineral content among sexual minority men but not women in multiple NHANES waves. American Journal of Human Biology. doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.23534
Stockmaier S, Stroeymeyt N, Shattuck EC, Hawley DM, Meyers LA, Bolnick DI. Infectious diseases and social distancing in nature. Science 371:eabc8881. doi.org/10.1126/science.abc8881
2020
Shattuck EC, Muehlenbein MP. Religiosity/spirituality and physiological markers of health. Journal of Religion and Health 59, 1035-1054.
Shattuck EC, Perrotte JK, Daniels CL, Xu X, Sunil TS. The contribution of sociocultural factors in shaping self-reported sickness behavior. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 14:4. doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2020.00004
2019
Shattuck EC. A biocultural approach to psychiatric illnesses. Psychopharmacology. doi.org/10.1007/s00213-019-5178-7
2018
Shattuck EC. Ecological context and human variation: applying biological anthropology to psychoneuroimmunology. In Q. Yan (Ed.), Psychoneuroimmunology: Methods and Protocols, 2nd ed., Methods in Molecular Biology, vol. 1781. Springer Science+Business Media. p. 55-76. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-7828-1_4
Longman D, Prall SP, Shattuck EC, Stephen ID, Stock JT, Wells JCK, Muehlenbein MP. Short-term resource allocation during extensive athletic competition. American Journal of Human Biology 2017:e23052. doi: 10.1002/ajhb.23052
2016
Shattuck EC and Muehlenbein MP. Towards an integrative picture of human sickness behavior. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity 57:255-262. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2016.05.002
Shattuck EC. The dilemma of immune stimulation and suppression during depression: one step closer to a solution? Brain, Behavior, and Immunity 54:15-16. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2016.02.004
2015
Shattuck EC and Muehlenbein MP. Human sickness behavior: ultimate and proximate explanations. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 157:1-18. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.22698
Shattuck EC and Muehlenbein MP. Mood, behavior, testosterone, cortisol, and interleukin-6 in adults during immune activation: a pilot study to assess sickness behaviors in humans. American Journal of Human Biology 27:133-135. doi: 10.1002/ajhb.22608
2013
Denison AM, DeLeon-Carnes M, Blau DM, Shattuck EC, McDougal LK, Rasheed JK, Limbago BM, Zaki SR, and Paddock CD. Molecular characterization of Staphylococcus aureus and influenza virus coinfections in patients with fatal pneumonia. Journal of Clinical Microbiology 51:4223-4225. doi:10.1128/JCM.02503-13
2010
Reiber C, Shattuck EC, Fiore S, van Goozen P, Davis V, and Moore J. Change in human social behavior in response to a common vaccine. Annals of Epidemiology 20:729-733. doi: 10.1016/j.annepidem.2010.06.014
Media Coverage
The Pandemic Didn't Really Change How Americans Think About Sickness - TIME Magazine
Researchers at UTSA Leverage Data Science to Explore Impact of Pandemic - UTSA Today
The Ants Go Marching One by One: Social Distancing in the Animal Kingdom - Canadian Geographic
Study Finds New Causal Link Between Sleep, Immune System, Mortality - Academic Times
Researchers Study Role Culture Plays in Feeling Sick - UTSA Today
This Episode is Sick! With Dr. Eric Shattuck - Sausage of Science Podcast
It's Not Just a Cold, It's Sickness Behavior - Shots: Health News from NPR