Phone: (608) 265-8722
Office: 589 Psychology

Laboratory of Neurophysiological Modulation and Behavior

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David M. Devilbiss
Assistant Scientist
Ph.D. 2002, Drexel University

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   My research continues to focus on understanding the interaction between central monoamine and neuropeptide systems, their modulation of individual neuron and distributed neural coding, and its relation to cognitive and behavioral changes. Most recently my focus has been to examine 1) the neural mechanisms responsible for the cognition-enhancing effects of methylphenidate (Ritalin) and 2) the neural mechanisms underlying stress-related behavioral changes. Several challenges exist with this line of research including identifying putative distributed neural codes that undergo neuromodulation, which reflect cognitive, behavioral, and/or perceptual changes.

   To address these questions I am continually developing behavioral assays for rodents that will permit simultaneous electrophysiological recordings of dozens of neurons engaged in coding those behavioral tasks. Additionally, I am continally developing and refining statistical approaches to analyzing multiple simultaneous recordings as well as developing computer science based solutions for linking data warehousing and information management. This work involves collaborations with researchers at Drexel University, University of Pennsylvania, as well as Drs. RL Jenison and CW Berridge.