About

Jessica Connelly is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia. Her research focuses on the dissection of complex phenotypes and human disease at the level of transcription and epigenetic regulation. Her current projects seek to understand the relationship between DNA methylation of the oxytocin receptor and individual differences in behavior in humans and model systems. Her work explores how epigenetic mechanisms influence neural responses during social attention and how genetic and epigenetic factors interact with environmental influences such as early nurture and economic privilege. Connelly's research aims to elucidate the biological underpinnings of social behavior and related phenotypes through the study of molecular and neural correlates.

Research topics

• Biology
• Neuroscience
• Psychology
• Genetics
• Developmental psychology
• Medicine
• Internal medicine
• Endocrinology

Selected publications

• The active monitoring of oxytocin research evidence (AMORE) platform

  2025-09-08

  preprintOpen access

  Oxytocin, an evolutionarily conserved neuropeptide, plays a crucial role in various physiological and behavioural processes, offering potential therapeutic benefits for several psychiatric and neurodevelopmental conditions. Despite its promise, oxytocin research has been marked by inconsistent results concerning its therapeutic applications and underlying mechanisms. Performing a systematic review and meta-analysis is a popular approach to shed light on mixed findings in a body of literature; however, they can become quickly outdated as new evidence becomes available. Given these challenges, research on oxytocin and its biobehavioural outcomes is ideally positioned for the adoption of ‘living’ meta-analyses, which allow for the continuous integration of new data and updated conclusions. Here we introduce the Active Monitoring of Oxytocin Research Evidence (AMORE) platform (https://amore-project.org), which is a hub that aggregates articles and materials associated with living meta-analyses for biobehavioural oxytocin research. Developed through consensus among 24 expert researchers, a standardized framework was established that either requires or recommends practices ensuring transparency and rigor in living meta-analyses featured on the AMORE platform. Overall, AMORE has been designed to advance oxytocin biobehavioural research by the timely integration of emerging evidence through transparent living meta-analyses

  PublisherDOI

• Synthetic Oxytocin and Maternal Postpartum Depression

  The Journal of Perinatal & Neonatal Nursing · 2025-05-14

  article

  PURPOSE: This scoping review aims to synthesize existing evidence on the relationship between intrapartum synthetic oxytocin (synOT) exposure and maternal postpartum depression (PPD). Specifically, it examines methodological similarities and differences in the current literature and highlights persistent gaps in knowledge regarding the effects of synOT on PPD outcomes. BACKGROUND: PPD is a prevalent adverse outcome associated with childbirth, and has significant implications for maternal and child health. The increasing administration of synOT during birth has generated concerns regarding its potential effects on maternal physiological and psychosocial functioning, including its potential association with PPD. DISCUSSION: In this review, studies examining the relationship between synOT administration and PPD demonstrate mixed findings. These inconsistencies are likely influenced by variability in PPD assessment methods, clinical indications for synOT administration, the concurrent use of synOT with other obstetric interventions, and individual differences in the maternal endogenous oxytocin system. IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH AND PRACTICE: Future research is needed to investigate the onset and duration of PPD using standardized definitions and assess the potential dose-dependent effects of synOT on maternal PPD outcomes. Furthermore, additional studies are needed to examine the cumulative effect of multiple birth interventions and the influence of synOT on the maternal endogenous oxytocin system to better understand individual susceptibilities to PPD.

  PublisherDOI

• Dynamic duos: learning to care as a pair in the biparental prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster)

  Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience · 2025-11-26 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Introduction A growing body of evidence shows that paternal care has long-lasting impacts on the social behavior of offspring, both in humans and other mammalian biparental species. However, fatherhood has historically been understudied and the dynamics of parental care adjustments based on their partner’s behavior remain unclear. This study investigates how individuals adjust parenting behavior based on their experience as part of a parenting dyad in the biparental prairie vole ( Microtus ochrogaster ). Methods We investigated how prairie voles learn to be parents by observing how their parental care effort changes over two consecutive litters. The first litter represents a naive context while the second litter represents an experienced context. Results On average, dyads provided 9% more care in the naive context than in the experienced context. Experienced mothers, as a group, tended to reduce care significantly, while experienced fathers did not. By comparing the correlation between mother and father care in the naive versus experienced contexts, we found that parental care became more negatively correlated following experience. Finally, we investigated whether the difference in the amount of care provided by each parent in the dyad in the naive context drives the observed changes in experienced parental behavior, and found that these differences significantly predict the likelihood of reducing or increasing parental care effort in the experienced context for both the male and female partner. Conclusion Our results indicate that individual care behavior is adjusted based on the parenting effort of the dyadic partner. When only group-wise analyses are conducted, it appears that only mothers reduce care based on experience. However, through a dyadic-based analysis, we find that a larger difference in care between the two parents in the naive context corresponds to greater shifts in care by both parents in the experienced context. In sum, two patterns emerge in experienced parents that appear to improve parental care efficiency: (1) parents take on a more compensatory pattern of caregiving over time and (2) are able to adapt to initial differences in care such that investments in care become more balanced between mothers and fathers over time.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Author response for "Unraveling the impact of oxytocin receptor gene methylation on stress and inflammation in older adults"

  2025-10-05

  peer-review
  PublisherDOI

• Interplay of plasma Oxytocin and oxytocin receptor gene methylation levels on empathy in older adults

  Scientific Reports · 2025-07-18 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Oxytocin (OT) levels in blood plasma and OT receptor gene (OXTRm) methylation are two crucial pieces of the endogenous OT system that have been independently associated with social cognition. Empathy is a social-cognitive skill essential for understanding others' emotions and intentions, making it vital for everyday social interactions across the lifespan. Associations of plasma OT and OXTRm levels with empathy are currently not well understood among older adults, despite this period being marked by changes in both the endogenous OT system and empathy. Tying these previously separate lines of research together, this study examined the interplay of plasma OT and OXTRm on empathy in generally healthy older adults. Plasma OT levels were not directly related to empathy but for older adults with higher OXTRm levels higher plasma OT levels were associated with lower empathy scores. These results contribute to a growing literature on the intricate role of the endogenous OT system in social cognition in aging.

  PublisherDOI

• Unraveling the impact of oxytocin receptor gene methylation on stress and inflammation in older adults

  Journal of Neuroendocrinology · 2025-11-15 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Oxytocin (OT) is a neuropeptide involved, among other functions, in the regulation of stress and inflammation. OT's impact on inflammatory and stress‐related processes is particularly relevant in older adults, given that elevated levels of systemic inflammation typically associated with age can be amplified by stress. Methylation of the OT receptor gene ( OXTR m) is an epigenetic process that reduces the availability of receptors to bind with OT. While acute stress has been shown to increase OXTR m levels in older adults, the interplay of OXTR m and stress on inflammation remains unexamined. This study collected blood samples from 116 generally healthy older adults ( M age = 71.2 years, SD = 7.51 years, range = 55–95 years) to quantify methylation OXTR m at CpG site ‐924 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐α as biomarkers of systemic inflammation, as well as assessed self‐reported levels of stress. Moderated linear regression revealed that higher OXTR m methylation levels and greater perceived stress were associated with greater systemic inflammation ( B = 0.24, p = 0.006). These findings highlight OXTR m as an epigenetic pathway linking stress and inflammation in aging.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The active monitoring of oxytocin research evidence (AMORE) platform

  Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2025-12-06 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  Oxytocin, an evolutionarily conserved neuropeptide, plays a crucial role in various physiological and behavioural processes, offering potential therapeutic benefits for several psychiatric and neurodevelopmental conditions. Despite its promise, oxytocin research has been marked by inconsistent results concerning its therapeutic applications and underlying mechanisms. Performing a systematic review and meta-analysis is a popular approach to shed light on mixed findings in a body of literature; however, they can become quickly outdated as new evidence becomes available. Given these challenges, research on the links between oxytocin and biobehavioural outcomes is ideally positioned for the adoption of 'living' meta-analyses, which allow for the continuous integration of new data and updated conclusions. Here we introduce the Active Monitoring of Oxytocin Research Evidence (AMORE) platform (https://amore-project.org), which is a hub that aggregates articles and materials associated with living meta-analyses for biobehavioural oxytocin research in humans. Developed through consensus among 24 expert researchers, a standardized framework was established that either requires or recommends practices ensuring transparency and rigor in living meta-analyses featured on the AMORE platform. Overall, AMORE has been designed to advance human oxytocin biobehavioural research by the timely integration of emerging evidence through transparent living meta-analyses. To date, two living meta-analysis projects at different stages of publication are hosted on AMORE, demonstrating the platform's practical application.

  PublisherDOI

• Oxytocin treatment at birth accelerates an epigenetic shift in the oxytocin receptor gene in the maternal brain

  BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth · 2025-07-19 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  BACKGROUND: To date, nearly one in three births in the United States occurs after a labor induced with synthetic oxytocin. Despite how common this intervention is, little is known about its long-term consequences for maternal health. Existing work has identified a link between labor induction with synthetic oxytocin and increased risk for postpartum depression. For some women, the link between labor induction and postpartum depression risk may be altered functioning of the oxytocin system, including epigenetic modification of the oxytocin receptor gene, OXTR. Here we use the prairie vole to understand how pregnancy and birth impact epigenetic control of Oxtr, and how a labor induced with synthetic oxytocin may alter this control. METHODS: In an unmanipulated birth model, we measured Oxtr DNA methylation levels in the brain of virgin females, at term pregnancy, and 90 min postpartum using targeted pyrosequencing at four CpG sites in the Oxtr promotor region that are conserved from the human OXTR. We used RT-PCR to assess Oxtr gene expression levels in the brains of these same subjects. These same methods were next used in a model of labor induction with exogenous oxytocin. In both models, brain regions targeted for analysis included the nucleus accumbens, amygdala, and medial preoptic area. These regions all use oxytocin system activity in regulating aspects of maternal behaviors. 2-way ANOVA, unpaired two-tailed t-tests, and Pearson's and Spearman's correlations were used for analyses. RESULTS: Results identify a regulatory switch in Oxtr from term pregnancy to early postpartum that is facilitated in part by oxytocin. Oxtr DNA methylation in virgins is negatively associated with Oxtr gene expression at all four conserved CpG sites in the nucleus accumbens. At term pregnancy, there is no relationship between these markers. Immediately postpartum, this relationship shifts back to a pre-pregnancy state. Administration of increasing doses of exogenous oxytocin, modeling labor induction, shifts the methylation-expression relationship toward a negative state in the nucleus accumbens, mimicking a postnatal brain but at a prenatal time point. CONCLUSIONS: Findings show epigenetic control of Oxtr is dynamic across pregnancy and birth and is sensitive to exogenous oxytocin. Results indicate a need to better understand how common birth interventions impact Oxtr regulation in the maternal brain.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Epigenetic Modification of the Oxytocin Receptor in Pregnancy Predicts Parent-infant Bonding and Postpartum Depressive Symptoms

  Journal of Child and Family Studies · 2025-11-08

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  The present study aims to examine psychological and epigenetic influences on the journey to parenthood for first-time parents. Prior work suggests that one in five new parents will experience elevated depressive symptoms in the postpartum period which has been shown to have downstream consequences on the quality of parent-infant bonding. More research is needed to explore the biological underpinnings of postpartum depressive symptoms and parent-infant bonding to inform prevention efforts. Sixty-six expectant parents from diverse sociocultural backgrounds participated during the antepartum period and through six months postpartum. Psychological measures were collected via a secure online platform and the epigenetic modification of the oxytocin system (oxytocin receptor gene methylation) was assayed from passive drool saliva collection that was completed in-person. Expectant parents with higher levels of oxytocin receptor gene methylation during the antepartum period were more likely to endorse high stress and conflict in the parent-infant relationship and higher levels of postpartum depressive symptoms. An epigenetic modification of the oxytocin system may play a role in risk for postpartum depressive symptoms and challenges in the parent-infant relationship. More research is needed to understand the biological underpinnings of risk for postpartum depressive symptoms and challenging parent-infant relationships, particularly those factors that may be most responsive to prevention and intervention efforts. The present study investigated psychological, genetic, and epigenetic influences on the journey to parenthood for first-time parents. Sixty-six expectant parents from diverse sociocultural backgrounds participated during the antepartum period and through six months postpartum. Elevated oxytocin receptor gene methylation was related to higher stress and conflict in the parent-infant relationship and elevated postpartum depressive symptoms.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Accelerated epigenetic age is associated with whole-brain functional connectivity and impaired cognitive performance in older adults

  Scientific Reports · 2024-04-26 · 15 citations

  articleOpen access

  While chronological age is a strong predictor for health-related risk factors, it is an incomplete metric that fails to fully characterize the unique aging process of individuals with different genetic makeup, neurodevelopment, and environmental experiences. Recent advances in epigenomic array technologies have made it possible to generate DNA methylation-based biomarkers of biological aging, which may be useful in predicting a myriad of cognitive abilities and functional brain network organization across older individuals. It is currently unclear which cognitive domains are negatively correlated with epigenetic age above and beyond chronological age, and it is unknown if functional brain organization is an important mechanism for explaining these associations. In this study, individuals with accelerated epigenetic age (i.e. AgeAccelGrim) performed worse on tasks that spanned a wide variety of cognitive faculties including both fluid and crystallized intelligence (N = 103, average age = 68.98 years, 73 females, 30 males). Additionally, fMRI connectome-based predictive models suggested a mediating mechanism of functional connectivity on epigenetic age acceleration-cognition associations primarily in medial temporal lobe and limbic structures. This research highlights the important role of epigenetic aging processes on the development and maintenance of healthy cognitive capacities and function of the aging brain.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant R00HL089412

  NIH · $747k · 2012

• NIH Grant K99HL089412

  NIH · $163k · 2009

• Mechanisms of maternal brain changes with birth interventions

  NIH · $4.2M · 2025–2030

• NIH Grant R01HL100257

  NIH · $1.5M · 2014

Frequent coauthors

• C. Sue Carter

  University of Illinois Chicago

  93 shared

• Allison M. Perkeybile

  University of Virginia

  92 shared

• William M. Kenkel

  University of Delaware

  88 shared

• Hossein Pournajafi‐Nazarloo

  Indiana University Bloomington

  86 shared

• John M. Davis

  86 shared

• Jason R. Yee

  Northeastern University

  84 shared

• Craig F. Ferris

  Northeastern University

  83 shared

• Evan L. MacLean

  University of Arizona

  83 shared

Labs

• Connelly LabPI