Sharon Hunter, PhD

Professional Titles

• Associate Professor

Publications

• Guha, A. Hunter, S., Legget, K., McHugo, M., Tregellas, J. (Revised and Resubmitted). Greater increase in hippocampal activity during the early postnatal period after preterm birth is associated with better cognitive and motor outcomes at 18 months. Developmental Neurobiology
• Hoffman, MC, Hunter, SK, Freedman, RF (submitted Nov 2024, Under Review). Maternal choline during pregnancy and its effects on fetal development. Obstetrics and Gynecology.
• Guha A, Hunter SK, Legget KT, McHugo M, Hoffman MC, Tregellas JR. Intrinsic Infant Hippocampal Function Supports Inhibitory Processing. Dev Psychobiol. 2024 Sep;66(6):e22529. PubMed PMID: 39010701
• Hunter SK, Hoffman MC, D'Alessandro A, Freedman R. Developmental Windows for Effects of Choline and Folate on Excitatory and Inhibitory Neurotransmission During Human Gestation. Dev Psychobiol. 2024 Feb;66(2). PubMed PMID: 38646069
• Hoffman MC, Hunter SJ, D'Alessandro A, Christians U, Law AJ, Freedman R. Maternal Plasma Choline during Gestation and Small for Gestational Age Infants. Am J Perinatol. 2022 Dec 30. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 36584689
• Uhler KM, Anderson SR, Yoshinaga-Itano C, Walker KA, Hunter S. Speech Discrimination in Infancy Predicts Language Outcomes at 30 Months for Both Children with Normal Hearing and Those with Hearing Differences. J Clin Med. 2022 Sep 30;11(19). PubMed PMID: 36233686
• Porter AC, Hunter S, Noonan K, Hoffman MC. A Mindfulness Application for Reducing Prenatal Stress. J Midwifery Womens Health. 2022 Jul;67(4):442-447. PubMed PMID: 35403807
• Hunter SK, Hoffman MC, D'Alessandro A, Wyrwa A, Noonan K, Zeisel SH, Law AJ, Freedman R. Prenatal choline, cannabis, and infection, and their association with offspring development of attention and social problems through 4 years of age. Psychol Med. 2021 Jan 25;:1-10. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 33491615
• Uhler K, Hunter S, Gilley PM. Mismatched response predicts behavioral speech discrimination outcomes in infants with hearing loss and normal hearing. Infancy. 2021 Jan 22. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 33481354
• Freedman R, Hunter SK, Law AJ, Clark AM, Roberts A, Hoffman MC. Choline, folic acid, Vitamin D, and fetal brain development in the psychosis spectrum. Schizophr Res. 2021 Apr 7. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 33838984
• Hunter SK, Hoffman MC, McCarthy L, D'Alessandro A, Wyrwa A, Noonan K, Christians U, Nakimuli-Mpungu E, Zeisel SH, Law AJ, Freedman R. Targeting Treatments to Health Disparities. Schizophr Bull. 2021 Jul 8;47(4):886-887. PubMed PMID: 33940629
• Freedman R, Hunter SK, Law AJ, Hoffman MC. Prenatal prevention of psychiatric illness and childhood development population-wide. World Psychiatry. 2021 Jun;20(2):226-227. PubMed PMID: 34002528
• Hoffman MC, Freedman R, Law AJ, Clark AM, Hunter SK. Maternal nutrients and effects of gestational COVID-19 infection on fetal brain development. Clin Nutr ESPEN. 2021 Jun;43:1-8. PubMed PMID: 34024500
• Hunter SK, Hoffman MC, D'Alessandro A, Walker VK, Balser M, Noonan K, Law AJ, Freedman R. Maternal prenatal choline and inflammation effects on 4-year-olds' performance on the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-IV. J Psychiatr Res. 2021 Sep;141:50-56. PubMed PMID: 34174557
• Hunter SK, Freedman R, Law AJ, Christians U, Holzman JBW, Johnson Z, Hoffman MC. Maternal corticosteroids and depression during gestation and decreased fetal heart rate variability. Neuroreport. 2021 Oct 6;32(14):1170-1174. PubMed PMID: 34284445
• Hunter, S., Hoffman, M., D'Alessandro, A., Wyrwa, A., Noonan, K., Zeisel, S., . . . Freedman, R. (2021). Prenatal choline, cannabis, and infection, and their association with offspring development of attention and social problems through 4 years of age. Psychological Medicine, 1-10. doi:10.1017/S0033291720005061
• Hunter SK, Hoffman MC, McCarthy L, D'Alessandro A, Wyrwa A, Noonan K, Christians U, Nakimuli-Mpungu E, Zeisel SH, Law AJ, Freedman R. Black American Maternal Prenatal Choline, Offspring Gestational Age at Birth, and Developmental Predisposition to Mental Illness. Schizophr Bull. 2021 Jul 8;47(4):896-905. PubMed PMID: 33184653
• Hunter SK, Hoffman MC, McCarthy L, D'Alessandro A, Wyrwa A, Noonan K, Christians U, Nakimuli-Mpungu E, Zeisel SH, Law AJ, Freedman R. Black American Maternal Prenatal Choline, Offspring Gestational Age at Birth, and Developmental Predisposition to Mental Illness. Schizophr Bull. 2020 Nov 13. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 33184653
• Freedman R, Hunter SK, Noonan K, Wyrwa A, Christians U, Law AJ, Hoffman MC. Maternal Prenatal Depression in Pregnancies With Female and Male Fetuses and Developmental Associations With C-reactive Protein and Cortisol. Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging. 2020 Aug 13. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 33060035
• Freedman R, Hunter SK, Law AJ, D'Alessandro A, Noonan K, Wyrwa A, Camille Hoffman M. Maternal choline and respiratory coronavirus effects on fetal brain development. J Psychiatr Res. 2020 Sep;128:1-4. PubMed PMID: 32474140
• Hunter SK, Hoffman MC, D'Alessandro A, Noonan K, Wyrwa A, Freedman R, Law AJ. Male fetus susceptibility to maternal inflammation: C-reactive protein and brain development. Psychol Med. 2019 Dec 2;:1-10. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 31787129
• Porter A, Hunter S, Johnson Z, Freedman R, Hoffman, MC. Outcomes of maternal stress as evaluated by the perceived stress scale. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2019; 220:S201-S202.
• Hunter SK, Hoffman MC, Freedman R. Targeting genetic and environmental risk for mental illness in the womb. Schizophrenia Bull. 2019; 45: S126-S127.
• Hoffman MC, Olincy A, D'Alessandro A, Haines J, Hansen K, Hunter S, Freedman R, Ross R. Effects of phosphatidylcholine and betaine supplements on women's serum choline. Journal of Nutrition and Intermediary Metabolism, 2019. doi 10.1016/j.jnim.2019.100094
• Hunter SK, Hoffman MC, D'Alessandro A, Noonan K, Wyrwa A, Freedman R, Law AJ. Male fetus susceptibility to maternal inflammation: C-reactive protein and brain development. Psychol Med. 2019 Dec 2;:1-10. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 31787129
• Hoffman MC, Hunter SK, D'Alessandro A, Noonan K, Wyrwa A, Freedman R. Interaction of maternal choline levels and prenatal Marijuana's effects on the offspring. Psychol Med. 2019 Jul 31:1-11. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 31364525
• Freedman R, Hunter SK, Law AJ, Wagner BD, D'Alessandro A, Christians U, Noonan K, Wyrwa A, Hoffman MC. Higher Gestational Choline Levels in Maternal Infection Are Protective for Infant Brain Development. J Pediatr. 2019 May;208:198-206.e2. PubMed PMID: 30879727
• Uhler K, Gilley PM, Hunter SK. Neural habituation of the mismatch response predicts pattern detection and speech discrimination in infants. 43rd Meeting of Association for Research in Otolaryngology, 2020, ARO abs: 663
• Uhler K, Gilley PM, Hunter SK. The relationship between time-frequency MMRSE and speech discrimination. International Evoked Response Audiology Study Group, Sydney, AUS, July 3, 2019
• Uhler K, Gilley PM, Hunter SK. The relationship between time-frequency MMRSE and speech discrimination. Frontiers in Hearing, Estes Park, CO. July 15, 2019.
• Uhler KM, Hunter SK, Tierney E, Gilley PM. The relationship between mismatch response and the acoustic change complex in normal-hearing infants. Clin Neurophysiol. 2018 Jun; 129(6): 1148-1160. PMID: 29635099
• Uhler KM, Hunter SK, Tierney E, Gilley PM. The relationship between mismatch response and the acoustic change complex in normal hearing infants. Clin Neurophysiol. 2018 Jun;129(6):1148-1160. PubMed PMID: 29635099
• Freedman R, Hunter SK, Hoffman MC. Prenatal Primary Prevention of Mental Illness by Micronutrient Supplements in Pregnancy. Am J Psychiatry. 2018 Jul 1;175(7):607-619. PubMed PMID: 29558816
• Huberty, S., Hunter, S.K., Hoffman, M.C. Intergenerational transmission of adversity: A focus on perinatal stress, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, and infant neurodevelopment. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 57(10), s202-203. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2018.09.222
• Freedman, R., Hunter, S.K., Law, A.J., Wagner, B.D., D'Alessandro, A., Christians, U., Noonan, K., Wyrwa, A. & Hoffman, M.C., Higher gestational choline levels in maternal infection are protective for infant brain development., Journal of Pediatrics
• Hutchison AK, Hunter SK, Wagner BD, Calvin EA, Zerbe GO, Ross RG. Diminished Infant P50 Sensory Gating Predicts Increased 40-Month-Old Attention, Anxiety/Depression, and Externalizing Symptoms. J Atten Disord. 2017 Feb;21(3):209-218. PubMed PMID: 23757333
• Wei P, Hunter SK, Ross RG. Sleep Spindles and Auditory Sensory Gating: Two Measures of Cerebral Inhibition in Children Are Strongly Correlated. Colorado journal of psychiatry and psychology. 2017 January; 2(1):75-83
• Ross, R.G., Hunter, S.K., McCarthy, L., Beuler, J., Hutchinson, A.K., Wagner, B.D., Leonard, S., Stevens, K.E., Freedman, R. (2013). Perinatal choline effects on neonatal pathophysiology related to later schizophrenia risk. American Journal of Psychiatry.
• Ross AS, Hunter SK, Groth MA, Ross RG. P50 sensory gating in infants. J Vis Exp. 2013 Dec 26;(82):50065. PubMed PMID: 24430259
• Hutchison AK, Hunter SK, Wagner BD, Calvin EA, Zerbe GO, Ross RG. Diminished Infant P50 Sensory Gating Predicts Increased 40-Month-Old Attention, Anxiety/Depression, and Externalizing Symptoms. J Atten Disord. 2013 Jun 11. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 23757333
• Ross RG, Hunter SK, McCarthy L, Beuler J, Hutchison AK, Wagner BD, Leonard S, Stevens KE, Freedman R. Perinatal choline effects on neonatal pathophysiology related to later schizophrenia risk. Am J Psychiatry. 2013 Mar 1;170(3):290-8. PubMed PMID: 23318559
• *Calvin E, Hunter SK, Ross RG (2013). Preschoolers of mothers with affective and anxiety disorders show impairments in cognitive inhibition during a chimeric animal stroop. International Neuropsychiatric Disease Journal, 1(1):1-15. http://www.sciencedomain.org/issue.php?iid=237&id=29
• *Reidy RE, Ross RG, Hunter SK (2013). Theory of Mind development is impaired in 4-year-old children with prenatal exposure to maternal tobacco smoking. International Neuropsychiatric Disease Journal, 1(1):24-34. http://www.sciencedomain.org/issue.php?iid=237&id=29
• *Pellegrino L, Ross RG, Hunter SK (2013). Prenatal exposure to maternal anxiety is associated with less developed smooth pursuit eye movements in six-month-old infants: An initial study. International Neuropsychiatric Disease Journal, 1(1):89-103. http://www.sciencedomain.org/issue.php?iid=237&id=29
• Ross, R.G., Hunter, S.K., Zerbe, G.O. & Hanna, K. (2012). Mothers and fathers do not accurately report each other’s psychopathology. Mental Illness, 4(2):e14 DOI:10.4081/mi.2012.e14.
• Hunter SK, Mendoza JH*, D’Anna K, McCarthy L, Freedman R, Ross RG (2012). Antidepressants may mitigate the effects of prenatal maternal anxiety on infant auditory sensory gating. American Journal of Psychiatry, 169, 616-624.
• Pellegrino, L., Hunter, S., Ross, R.G. Infant markers of vulnerability to psychosis. Western Medical Student Research Forum, Biological Psychiatry, Philadelphia, PA. May, 2012.
• Hunter, SK;Mendoza, JH;D'Anna, K; Zerbe, GO;McCarthy, L; Hoffman, C; Freedman, R; Ross, RG (2012) Antidepressants may mitigate the effects of prenatal maternal anxiety on infant auditory sensory gating
• Hunter, S.K., Kisley, M.A., McCarthy, L., Freedman, R., Ross, R.G. (2010). Diminished cerebral inhibition in neonates associated with risk factors for schizophrenia: Parental psychosis, maternal depression and nicotine use. Schizophrenia Bulletin, Advanced access, April, 19, 2010.
• Hunter SK, Hoffman MC, D'Alesandro A, Freedman, R. Developmental windows for effects of choline and folate on excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission during gestation. Dev Psychobiol, in press
• Freedman, R, Hunter, SK, Hoffman, MC. Prenatal Primary Prevention of Mental Illness by Micronutrient Supplements in Pregnancy. American Journal of Psychiatry
• Uhler, K; Hunter, SK; Tierney, E; Gilley, PM. The relationship between mismatch response and the acoustic change complex in normal hearing infants. Clinical Neurophysiology

Practice Locations

Department of Psychiatry - Faculty and Staff Mental Health
1890 N Revere Ct
Anschutz Health Sciences Bldg, Suite 5242
Aurora, CO 80045
303-724-4987

Specialty Information

Specialties

• Psychology