Darragh P. Devine, Ph.D.

Colonel Allen R. and Margaret G. Crow Term Professor
Director, Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience
Departments of Psychology & Neuroscience
University of Florida
P.O. Box 112250
Gainesville, FL 32611-2250

Please note new office and lab phone numbers
office 352-273-2174
lab 352-273-2192

fax 352-392-7985

e-mail
 dpdevine@ufl.edu






photo of lab group
The Devine Lab Group Fall 2010: (from left to right) Nathan Weinstock, M.S.; Xiaomeng Yuan, B.S.; Darragh Devine, Ph.D.; William Lin, B.S.; Sergei Zolotukhin, Ph.D.; Michael La Sala, B.S.; Stacey Reynolds, Ph.D.; Karly Lorbeer; Alex Millette; missing Amber Van Matre (nee Muehlmann), M.S. and Catherine Marcinkiewcz, M.S.

Click on these links to navigate through my web site:  

1. Research Statement
 4. Teaching (includes links to web sites for my courses)
2. Educational Background
 5. Links to Related Sites
3. My CV
 6. Laboratory Photo Gallery


Research Statement:

NEUROBIOLOGY OF SELF-INJURIOUS BEHAVIOUR: Self-injurious behaviour is arguably the most debilitating of all the pathological characteristics that are observed in patients with neurodevelopmental disorders. Typically, afflicted patients exhibit head-banging, self-biting, and/or self-punching behaviours. These behaviours carry the risk of extreme physical harm, and they interfere with all normal functions of daily living, including educational and socializing activities. In addition, self-injury is destructive for families of afflicted patients, and the cost of specialized care is over $3 billion annually in the United States. Self-injurious behaviour is particularly prevalent in autism spectrum disorders, Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, and other genetically-determined disorders. However, the incidence and severity is highly variable within most of these diagnostic groups. 

Most investigations of self-injury focus upon psychosocial aspects of the behavior disorder (e.g. functional analysis and intervention to address reinforcing social interactions that maintain these behaviors). This approach has yielded treatment programs that are partially effective for many patients, and behavior therapy is clearly the treatment of choice. However, social reinforcement does not contribute to the maintenance of SIB in over 30% of cases, and many self-injurers (e.g. Lesch-Nyhan syndrome) are particularly resistant to behavioral interventions.  

Accordingly, we have focused our research efforts upon identification of neuropathological variables that may underlie shared vulnerability for etiology of self-injury across neurodevelopmental disorders. One important clue is that self-injurious behaviour is highly prevalent in genetic disorders where ongoing distress, pathological irritability, and abnormal physiological stress responses are prominent features. Additional clues come from clinical trials of pharmacological interventions, from-post mortem neurochemical analyses, and from studies in animal models. The convergent evidence from these three lines of research indicates that dopaminergic insufficiency is a common element in vulnerability for self-injury. A prevailing (and decades old) interpretation is that the dopaminergic deficits cause postsynaptic supersensitivity. However, biochemical investigations of this putative supersensitivity are lacking. Therefore, our understanding of the biological basis of self-injurious behaviour lags far behind our understanding of virtually every other major neuropsychiatric dysfunction.

We are studying the neurobiological basis of vulnerability for self-injury in an animal model. In our model, rats exhibit self-biting behaviour after 4-5 days of treatment with pemoline (a monoamine uptake blocker). We have refined the model, improved behavioral measures, and identified multiple lines of congruence between clinical and pemoline-induced self-injury. Most importantly, individual rats differ in vulnerability, and this is based upon innate stress-responsive phenotypes. In addition, dopamine stores are depleted during the induction of self-injurious behaviour, and exposure to stress exacerbates the symptoms of self-injury. All these characteristics are redolent of findings in human self-injurers. We are currently investigating biochemical measures of neuronal sensitivity that may differentiate vulnerable from resistant rats in the pemoline model. These studies will promote our understanding of the brain mechanisms that underlie the etiology of this devastating behavioural pathology.

TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES:  Students in my laboratory have extensive opportunities to participate in the ongoing research program.  They routinely learn and practice state-of-the-art methods in analysis of pharmacologically-induced and environmentally-induced alterations in behaviour.  This is combined with assays of concomitant changes in neurochemistry, hormonal responses, and gene regulation.  A major goal of training in my laboratory is to foster critical thinking as it relates to important issues in behavioural and molecular neuroscience.




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Education:  
Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship
University of Michigan, School of Medicine
Department of Psychiatry
Mental Health Research Institute
Ann Arbor, Michigan,
supervisors: Huda Akil, Ph.D. & Stanley J. Watson, M.D., Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Psychology
Concordia University
Center for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology
Montréal, Québec, Canada
thesis advisor: Roy A. Wise, Ph.D.
Master of Arts (M.A.), Psychology
Carleton University
Department of Psychology
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
thesis advisor: Nicholas P. Spanos, Ph.D.
Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.), Psychobiology
Concordia University
Department of Psychology
Montréal, Québec, Canada

Diplôme d'études collégiales (D.E.C.), Social Sciences
Dawson College C.E.G.E.P.
(college de l'enseignment general et professionnel)
Montréal, Québec, Canada
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Current Lab Group (2010)

Current Post-Docs / Visiting Research Associates
Sergei Zolotukhin, Ph.D. szlt@ufl.edu Associate Professor, K-18, Dept. of Pediatrics, Cellular and Molecular Therapy, University of Florida
Stacey Reynolds, Ph.D. reynoldsse3@phhp.ufl.edu Assistant Professor, K-12 Scholar, College of Public Health and Health Professions at University of Florida, and Dept. of Occupational Therapy at Virginia Commonwealth University
Current Graduate Students
Amber Van Matre (nee Muehlmann), M.S. muehlman@ufl.edu Behav. and Cog. Neuroscience, Doctoral Candidate
Nathan Weinstock, M.S. natejw@ufl.edu Behav. and Cog. Neuroscience, Doctoral Candidate
Catherine Marcinkiewcz, M.S. saffron@ufl.edu Interdisc. Studies Program (IDP) Neuroscience, Doctoral Candidate
William Lin, B.S. wlin@ufl.edu Behav. and Cog. Neuroscience, Master's Candidate
Xiaomeng Yuan, B.S. verabbit@ufl.edu Behav. and Cog. Neuroscience, Master's Candidate
Michael LaSala mlasala@ufl.edu Interdisc. Studies Program (IDP) Neuroscience, Lab Rotation
Current Undergraduate Students
Karly Lorbeer klorbeer@ufl.edu
Alexandre Millette milette1991@hotmail.com

 

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The courses I teach:

Physiological Psychology PSB 3004
Behavioral Neuroscience PSB 3340
Behavioral Neuroendocrinology PSB 4934
Neurobiology of Learning and Memory PSB 4810
Graduate Proseminar in
Behavioral Neuroscience
 PSB 6099
Molecular Neurobiology PSB 6930
Mechanisms of Neuroplasticity PSB 7248
Behavioral Neurobiology of Stress and
Stress-Related Psychopathology		 PSB 7249

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Related links:
 
Resources Professional Associations Government Agencies Online Journals
Terminology in Neuroscience American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) National Clearing House for Alcohol & Drug Information (NCADI)  UF E-jounals
Brain Facts & Figures American Medical Association (AMA) National Institutes of Health (NIH)
National Center for Biotechnology Information American Psychiatric Association (APA) National Science Foundation (NSF)
History of Neuroscience American Psychological Association (APA) World Health Organization
Human Genome Project Canadian Psychological Association (CPA)

National Library of Medicine International Brain Research Organization (IBRO)

Primate Brain Atlas National Academy of Science

Pubmed New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS)

Society for Neuroscience Membership Directory Society for Neuroscience (SFN)





University of Florida links:  
University of Florida UF Department of Psychology UF Brain Institute
IDS Neuroscience major HHMI - Science for Life

Fun links:  
Gainesville Soccer Gainesville Area Rowing

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