Dr. Patricia Schiml:
Tel: (937) 775- 2223
Office: 325G Fawcett Hall
E-Mail: patricia.schiml@wright.edu
Dr. Patricia Schiml
Bio
Dr. Patricia Schiml received her Bachelor’s Degree from Wright State in 1989 and then went to the University of California at Davis where she received her Ph.D. in Psychobiology in 1996. After postdoctoral training in the Department of Biology at the University of Virginia, she started teaching at Wright State in 1999.
Research Interests
Two general ideas always interested me: first, the influence that social partners have on one another’s physiology, and secondly, the functional consequences of those influences as dictated by the processes of natural selection.
I am currently engaged in research with Dr. Michael Hennessy exploring the involvement of the immune system in attachment processes. Sickness behaviors are those that typically occur following infection. When we are sick, we reduce our level of activity, become still, and tend to lie down in a quiet place. Interestingly, sickness behaviors also occur during prolonged stress and following the disruption of important social relationships. We are investigating whether the mechanisms that promote this change in behavior are similar following infection and following the prolonged maternal separation.
