About

Charles Heim is a drummer, music educator, producer, and multi-instrumentalist based in central Pennsylvania. Born and raised in State College, PA, he earned a Bachelor of Music from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, and pursued graduate study in music education at Penn State University. His performance and touring credits include collaborations with William Gruff, Johnny Showcase and the Mystic Ticket, Grady Hoss and the Sidewinders, Martha Graham Cracker, the Alex Radus Trio, and Buried Beds, along with hundreds of recording sessions for various artists, soundtracks, theater, and musical productions. On the road, his bands have supported notable acts such as George Clinton, Sun Ra Arkestra, and Kishi Bashi. He has drumming credits on over 80 original albums and has published compositions both in print and on screen. As an educator, Heim has served on the drumset faculty at the University of the Arts, been Music Director at the School of Rock in Cherry Hill, NJ, and instructed at Philadelphia’s Bluebond and Green Tambourine Music Schools. Currently, he teaches drumset lessons, guitar classes, and directs jazz combos and rock ensembles at Penn State University, as well as teaching general music at CLC Charter School in State College. He also offers private instruction on various instruments, operates a home recording studio, and endorses Zildjian cymbals and Vic Firth drumsticks.

Research topics

• Psychology
• Medicine
• Clinical psychology
• Developmental psychology
• Internal medicine

Selected publications

• Whole blood mitochondrial DNA copy number in depressed patients with and without a history of adverse childhood experiences: the role of blood cell composition

  The World Journal of Biological Psychiatry · 2026-01-05

  articleOpen access

  OBJECTIVES: Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) are a significant risk factor for developing major depressive disorder (MDD) later in life, with mitochondria, key sensors of biological stress signals, emerging as a potential underlying mechanism. In the present study, we investigated the effects of ACE and MDD on whole blood mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNAcn), a proposed biomarker of mitochondrial health. In our analyses, we accounted for the platelet-to-leukocyte ratio, recognised as a source of variation in mtDNAcn measurements. METHODS: = 23 patients with MDD and ACE. None of the participants was taking psychotropic medication. RESULTS: We observed a significant effect of ACE on whole blood mtDNAcn, while no effect of MDD or ACE and MDD interaction was seen. After adjustment for the platelet-to-leukocyte ratio, the effect of ACE on mtDNAcn was no longer significant. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings do not support an association between ACE or MDD and whole blood mtDNAcn. Considering blood cell composition may enhance the understanding of whole blood mtDNAcn findings in trauma‑ and MDD‑related research.

  PublisherDOI

• Timing of a just-in-time intervention to reduce alcohol consumption: A simulation approach to optimize decision rules.

  Psychological Methods · 2026-02-16

  article

  The effectiveness of a just-in-time adaptive intervention relies on accurate algorithms (i.e., decision rules), that determine when and how interventions should be administered. Yet, so far, there is a lack of empirical investigations that evaluate the performance of decision rules. Simulation can be a useful tool to evaluate and refine a range of decision rules prior to implementing just-in-time adaptive interventions in real-world settings. In this study, we evaluate the performance of various decision rules using both an existing data set and a simulated data set that includes measures of craving and alcohol consumption. The tested decision rules consist of adaptive algorithms, like previous-day mean craving and online logistic regression, as well as fixed thresholds (e.g., a craving score larger than 1 on a 7-point Likert scale). For each decision rule, we generated confusion matrices and compared them across performance metrics, including accuracy, specificity, and sensitivity, as well as the number of interventions sent prior to drinking. To assess the robustness of our findings, we simulated a range of data sets with varying underlying distributions and tested the decision rule performance across these conditions. In addition, we conducted a multilevel logistic regression to identify the strongest association between the predictor and outcome variable across time lags. The presented method illustrates an approach to test and refine one's decision rules prior to launching a time-intensive, smartphone-based real-time intervention. A tutorial for conducting such simulations, as well as analysis codes, is provided online and in supplementary materials. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

  PublisherDOI

• Decreased thickness of the individually-mapped genital cortex after childhood sexual abuse exposure in adult women

  Communications Biology · 2026-02-19

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Previous research suggests interindividual variability in the location of the genital representation field and use-associated structural variation of genital field thickness associated with normative sexual activity in adult women. Using a sensory-tactile fMRI paradigm, we individually mapped genital fields of 128 women with and without exposure to childhood sexual abuse. We assessed whether structural variation of the individual genital field is driven by exposure to childhood sexual abuse or sexual frequency in the past year. We show that exposure to childhood sexual abuse associated with reduced thickness of individually-mapped genital cortex. Earlier abuse onset predicted greater reductions of genital field thickness. There was no effect of sexual frequency in the past year on genital field thickness. Classic neuroplasticity research indicates amplifying effects of stimulation on sensory cortex. In contrast, our results show long-lasting damaging effects of inappropriate stimulation during early development, emphasizing the need to protect children from sexual adversity.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Interactive behavior in mothers with and without borderline personality disorder: non-hostile behavior is associated with stronger neural activation of the theory of mind network in response to sad faces of the own child

  Frontiers in Psychiatry · 2026-02-20

  articleOpen access

  Objective Borderline personality disorder (BPD) affects many facets of interpersonal functioning, including maternal caregiving. Deficits in theory of mind (ToM) may put mothers with BPD at risk of showing dysfunctional parenting behavior. The present study investigated the association between the ToM brain network activation and parental behavior using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Method In the present study conducted within the UBICA project (Understanding and Breaking the Intergenerational Cycle of Abuse), mothers with BPD (n=19) and healthy controls (HCs, n=30) completed an affect recognition task where they viewed sad, happy, and neutral faces of their own vs. unknown children during fMRI. Additionally, maternal non-hostility, the degree of maternal angry or irritable negative affect during mother-child-interactions, was assessed with the emotional availability scales. Results Mothers with BPD compared to HCs showed lower performance in recognizing child facial expressions across emotions. Further, maternal non-hostility across groups was associated with higher activation of the ToM neural network including the temporoparietal junction (left TPJ; T = 4.52, p FWE = .03; right TPJ: T = 4.44, p FWE = .04) and the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC; T = 4.39, p FWE = .05) in response to sad faces of mother’s own vs. unknown children. Conclusion The results indicate reduced child affect recognition in mothers with BPD. Further, mothers showing stronger neural activation of the TPJ and dmPFC while seeing their own sad children were more non-hostile, pointing towards an important role of affective ToM in maternal care, which might be a viable therapeutic target in future studies.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The role of social support on change in C-reactive Protein and BMI among youth with and without child maltreatment history

  Brain Behavior and Immunity · 2025-12-28

  articleOpen access

  Child maltreatment (CM) has long-term consequences for metabolic and inflammatory processes, but it is unclear when these associations emerge and whether other psychosocial resources (e.g., social support), can moderate these associations. This study examined (1) the extent to which a history of CM investigation was associated with changes in youth high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and body mass index (BMI) across a two-year period, and (2) the moderating role of social support from different sources (caregivers, siblings, and peers) on this association. Participants included 318 youth (ages 8-13, 49.7 % female, 72 % white, 82.7 % with past CM investigation) who completed baseline (Time 1) and two-year follow up (Time 2) visits. CM history, hs-CRP and BMI were assessed at T1. Caregiver, peer, and sibling support, hs-CRP, and BMI were assessed at T2. Adjusting for youth age, sex, race/ethnicity, household income, and hs-CRP and BMI at Time 1, no main effects of CM history on Time 2 hs-CRP or BMI were found (ps > 0.28). However, independent of CM history, greater peer support was associated with lower BMI at Time 2 (β = -0.10, p = 0.005). Peer support further moderated the association between CM history and Time 2 BMI (β = -0.16, p = 0.007), such that CM history was associated with higher BMI only when peer support was relatively lower. Additionally, independent of CM history, greater sibling support was associated with lower hs-CRP at Time 2 (β = -0.09, p = 0.03). Post-hoc sensitivity analyses suggested unique effects when considering the number of types of CM experienced. Experiencing more types of CM was associated with greater Time 2 hs-CRP only when peer support was relatively lower (β = 0.07, p = 0.048). Additionally, youth who experienced more types of CM and who had higher levels of sibling support showed lower Time 2 hs-CRP (β = -0.15, p = 0.03). Overall, findings suggest that independent of CM history, greater sibling and peer support were associated with lower hs-CRP and BMI across a two-year period. Although there were no main effects of CM, greater peer support buffered the longitudinal effects of CM history on youth BMI. Additionally, in the context of experiencing multiple types of CM, greater levels of peer and sibling support functioned as protective factors.

  PublisherDOI

• Limited Generalizability of Epigenetic Clocks and Scores Across Pediatric Tissues and Age Ranges

  medRxiv · 2025-12-15

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Epigenetic clocks and scores have been investigated as potential biomarkers of later-life health outcomes following early-life exposures. In pediatric settings, DNA methylation (DNAm) is often measured in saliva; however, most clocks and scores have been trained in adult blood. Therefore, we assessed the performance, correlation, longitudinal stability, and association with early-life adversity (ELA) for established epigenetic measures in matched pediatric blood and saliva samples. Leveraging the Kids2Health cohort of 291 children (3-12 years, 56% exposed to ELA), we assessed DNAm (Illumina EPICv2) from matched blood and saliva. We calculated 22 commonly used epigenetic measures (chronological and biological clocks, scores for body mass index [BMI], C-reactive protein [CRP], cognition, maternal smoking, telomere length) and compared them with corresponding measured phenotypes (chronological age, BMI, CRP, IQ, telomere length). Overall, performance of epigenetic clocks and scores in children varied widely. Nine epigenetic measures were significantly and equally correlated with their corresponding phenotype across tissues. Six measures were highly correlated between blood and saliva (r≥0.7). All age acceleration estimates showed low to moderate cross-tissue correlations (r=0.20–0.68). Epigenetic scores indicating lower cognitive ability and elevated inflammation were associated with ELA and low SES in both tissues. We additionally provide epigenome-wide blood-saliva correlations across 815,069 CpGs. The results indicate limited generalizability of adult-trained epigenetic clocks and scores to pediatric blood and saliva, even when accounting for cell type composition. We advise caution for cross-tissue and cross-age-range applications of epigenetic measures in research and clinical settings and provide a resource to optimize epigenetic biomarkers in children.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Maternal sensitivity supports infant sleep: evidence from two longitudinal prospective cohorts on maternal childhood maltreatment, maternal sensitivity, and infant sleep

  2025-10-10

  articleOpen access

  Maternal childhood maltreatment (CM) has been linked to adverse outcomes in the next generation, including infant sleep, which is crucial for healthy development. This study examined whether maternal sensitivity buffered these effects in 101 German and 117 U.S. mother–infant dyads. Mothers reported on their CM history. Infant night sleep duration was assessed at 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 months. Sensitivity was observed at 6 months. In the German cohort, higher maternal CM predicted shorter infant night sleep (p = .001). Sensitivity moderated this association (p = .038), emphasizing its protective role. While the replication of this interaction was inconclusive in the U.S. sample, the pooled effect across cohorts was significant (p = .03). In the U.S. cohort, maternal sensitivity predicted longer infant sleep (p = .029). Findings highlight that sensitivity supports infant sleep and underscores the need to support parenting, especially in mothers with early adversity.

  PublisherDOI

• Oxytocin in prematurely born infants and their parents – A systematic review with clinical implications

  Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2025-08-05 · 3 citations

  reviewOpen access

  INTRODUCTION: The neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) is considered an important regulatory factor in mother-child bonding after birth. It is also thought to have neuroprotective effects, which could be particularly important for preterm born (≤ 37 weeks) infants, who are considered a high-risk group for several health issues. They are born when their own and their mother's OT-concentrations have not yet reached their maximum during pregnancy and often require neonatal intensive care, separating them from their parents. This review aims to identify studies on OT-concentration in preterm infants and their parents as well as to investigate possible influences on their OT-secretion. METHODS: The systematic literature search was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines, using the keywords "oxytocin", "infants", "prematurely" and synonyms in the PubMed, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar and PsycInfo databases. 15 publications met the criteria. As the studies were very heterogeneous in terms of the methods applied for the analysis of oxytocin concentration, a narrative synthesis and just a partial meta-analysis was performed. RESULTS: The quantification methods of OT were heterogeneous, the reported maternal values ranged from 1 to 4000 pg/ml. The sample sizes were limited (mean n = 31 across all studies) and OT was mostly measured in infant saliva. In the intervention studies, a consistent positive relationship was found between OT-concentration and physical contact, stress reduction and attachment behavior. A meta-analysis was performed for the effect size of bonding interventions like SSC on OT in maternal saliva, revealing a medium effect size (SMD = 0.40, p = 0.002). DISCUSSION: Despite the variance in methods and a certain risk of bias which limits the reliability of the studies, the overall results suggest an increase in oxytocin concentrations in response to bonding interventions like skin contact in preterm infants and their parents. Both appear to benefit from these anxiolytic and stress-reducing measures, supporting the clinical application of Kangaroo care in preterm infants. Methodological issues related to OT assessment in different body fluids of prematurely born infants are critically discussed. Future studies, applying an open-science approach, should focus on longitudinal designs, inclusion of control groups and confounding variables to ensure reliability and comparability.

  PublisherDOI

• 5.76 Obesity and Maltreatment in Young Children Are Associated With Shared Neural Network Activation in Response to High-Calorie Food Stimuli

  Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · 2025-10-01

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Males but not females report genital sensations evoked by fixed-parameter stimulation of somatosensory cortex

  Brain · 2025-07-02 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  The localization of the human genital cortex has been debated since its unusual placement in Wilder Penfield's somatosensory homunculus. While male and female genitalia are different, it remains unclear how these external differences are mapped onto the male and female brain. We investigated genital representation in the human somatosensory cortex by patient-report of sensations evoked by fixed parameter electrical stimulation during awake craniotomies. We find a reproducible genital representation in male subjects (n = 3) at the somatotopically appropriate location between the legs situated in the dorsal postcentral gyrus and sulcus. Our findings contradict early stimulation maps derived by Penfield and colleagues, which indicated an absence of genital responses in this brain region, but align with more recent imaging data from males and females that described blood-flow responses to genital stimulation at these coordinates. Surprisingly, however, we find no evidence for stimulation-evoked genital sensations in the postcentral gyrus and sulcus of females (n = 5) in line with Penfield's earlier conclusions. Specifically, females reported no genital sensations, but often leg sensations, when stimulated at the putative coordinates of female genital cortex. We conclude that reports of genital sensations differ between male and female somatosensory cortex upon stimulation. Our observations add to the growing evidence that genital representations differ between males and females.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant K01MH073698

  NIH · $642k · 2011

• RESOURCE CORE: Penn State University's Translational Center for Child Maltreatment Studies (TCCMS)

  NIH · $27.0M · 2017–2028

Frequent coauthors

• Sonja Entringer

  Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

  624 shared

• Claudia Buß

  496 shared

• Karin de Punder

  Universität Innsbruck

  240 shared

• Judith Overfeld

  Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

  162 shared

• Katja Dittrich

  Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

  159 shared

• Elisabeth B. Binder

  152 shared

• Sibylle Winter

  141 shared

• Laurel Raffington

  Max Planck Institute for Human Development

  130 shared

Labs

• Charles Heim LabPI

Education

• Postdoctoral Fellowship, Dept. of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

  Emory University School of Medicine

  1999

• PhD, Center for Psychobiological and Psychosomatic Research

  University of Trier

  1996

• Diploma (M.S.) Psychology

  University of Trier

  1993