David EdwardsCharles Howard Candler Professor of Behavioral Neuroscience

Dr. Edwards received his B.A. in Psychology from Reed College in 1964. He completed his Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at the University of California, Irvine in the summer of 1968, and joined the Emory faculty in the fall that same year. 

• Association for Psychological Science
• Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology

Hormonal correlates of competition and performance, ability, and status in intercollegiate athletics and other settings

Current Projects

Field studies having to do with the effects of athletic competition on levels of cortisol and testosterone and laboratory studies relating individual differences in hormone levels to individual and sex differences in human performance.

• PSYC 103/207: Brain & Behavior
• PSYC 110: Introduction to Psychology I
• PSYC 450: Psychology of Love
• PSYC 551: Neurobiology of Cognition and Motivated Behavior
• PSYC 775R: Neuroscience & Animal Behavior Seminar

View publications on Google Scholar.

Recent Journal Contributions

Turan, B., Hurst-Wajszczuk, K., Edwards, DA. (2022). Hormone and enzyme reactivity before, during, and after a music performance: Cortisol, testosterone, and alpha-amylase. Comprehensive Neuroendocrinology 9, 100111, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpnec.2022.100111

Casto, K.V., Edwards, D.A., et al. (2020). Testosterone reactivity to competitive endurance in men and women. Hormones and Behavior 123, 104665.

Edwards D.A., Turan B. (2020). Within-person coupling of estradiol, testosterone, and cortisol in women athletes. PeerJ 8:e8402 http://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.8402

Casto K.V. Edwards, D.A. (2019). Testosterone and cortisol interact to predict within-team status hierarchy among Olympic-level women athletes. Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology 5, 237-250.

Casto, K.V., Rivell, A., Edwards, D.A. (2017).  Competition-related testosterone, cortisol, and perceived personal success in recreational women athletes.  Hormones and Behavior 92, 29-36.

Casto, K.V., Edwards, D.A. (2016).  Testosterone, cortisol, and human competition. Hormones and Behavior 82, 21-37.

Casto, K.V., Edwards, D.A. (2016).  Testosterone and reconciliation among women:  After-competition testosterone predicts prosocial attitudes towards opponents.  Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology 2, 220-233. 

Casto, K.V., Edwards, D.A. (2016).  Before, during, and after: How phases of competition differentially affect testosterone, cortisol, and estradiol levels in women athletes.& Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology 2, 11-25.

Recent Edited Volume Contributions

Edwards D.A., Casto, K.V. (2018). The social neuroendocrinology of athletic competition. In: Routledge International Handbook of Social Neuroendocrinology, Schultheiss, OC and Mehta, PH (Eds.). Routledge, New York, pp. 730-746