Gordon Research Conferences - Conference Portfolio (Neural Circuits & Plasticity)

Gordon Research Conferences

PI_Conferences PI_Conferences_All

Conference Portfolio

Home

Conferences

Current Meetings (2013)

Upcoming Meetings (2014)

Past Meetings

Gordon Research Seminars NEW!

Conference Portfolio

Proposing a New Gordon Conference

For Attendees

The GRC Organization

Miscellaneous

HomeCurrent Meetings (2013)Upcoming Meetings (2014)Past MeetingsGordon Research Seminars NEW!Conference PortfolioProposing a New Gordon ConferenceOnline ApplicationSite, Travel & Poster InformationRegistration, Payment & Fee InformationMinority Diversity InitiativeContact ChairsAbout GRCGovernanceContact InformationNews and EventsSupporting GRCAlexander M. Cruickshank AwardsThe GRC Solar Electric SystemConference Photo Archive ProjectOther Conferences & Resources

QUICK SEARCH

	GO
[ advanced search ]

Neural Circuits & Plasticity

General Info
Status:	Inactive
Discipline:	Biological
Initial Year:	1977
Cycle:	24 Months

Categories
Biological Chemistry Developmental Systems Molecular Cell Biology Neurobiology

RSS Feed

Feed Unavailable

Conference Description
The last decades in Neuroscience have seen major progress in the cellular and molecular understanding of the nervous system and major advances in our understanding of the molecular and genetic determination of building neuronal pathways. We are achieving a mechanistic understanding of synaptic transmission and its plasticity, and molecular genetic techniques have provided a powerful paradigm in species such as C. elegans, Drosophila, zebrafish and mice, to genetically engineer animals with predictable changes in their behavior, after altering sometimes a single base pair in their genomes. At the same time, looking ahead, we strongly feel that these mostly reductionistic approaches are still culprits of treating the nervous system as a "black box" that generates behavior. The essential workings of neural circuits are ignored. The jump "from molecules to behavior" often ignores the intermediate steps, which not only are necessary to understand in this long series of causal links, but, moreover, could conceivably be the key level where the function of the nervous system is actually organized. Part of the problem lies in the fact that Neuroscience historically has focused on understanding the nervous system using the individual neuron as its focus of analysis, by using techniques that characterize the response of one neuron at a time. At the same time, most nervous systems are composed of enormous numbers of neurons and connections. In spite of more than a hundred years of Neuroanatomy, these gigantic connectivity matrixes are still largely unexplored, and the general rules by which these complex circuits operate are practically unknown. This set of questions, which one could call "the circuit problem", is a major challenge in modern Neuroscience. Moreover, it is even possible that, in analogy to the Crick-Watson model of DNA, or the Hodgkin and Huxley model of the action potential, there could be a relatively simple solution to a large variety of computational problems that the Nervous System solves. The circuit problem could have a simple answer. This conference is focused on the function of neural circuits, defined as the mechanisms by which assemblies of neurons generate perception, neural states and behavior. Sessions focus on multidisciplinary analysis to different neural circuits, including retina, olfactory system, hippocampus, striatum and neocortex, and covering species ranging from c. elegans to humans. The common thread is the study of the computational strategies use by these different circuits. The strength of the conference lies in its comparative aspect, since it is likely that evolution has conserved similar strategies for processing information and generating mental states and behavior. Modern Neuroscience encompasses research in tremendous breadth of scales, from the function of channels, to psychophysical or ethological analysis of behavior. While there are conferences that cover each of these levels, this GRC spans many levels and systems, focusing on the analysis of circuits.

Conference Description

The last decades in Neuroscience have seen major progress in the cellular and molecular understanding of the nervous system and major advances in our understanding of the molecular and genetic determination of building neuronal pathways. We are achieving a mechanistic understanding of synaptic transmission and its plasticity, and molecular genetic techniques have provided a powerful paradigm in species such as C. elegans, Drosophila, zebrafish and mice, to genetically engineer animals with predictable changes in their behavior, after altering sometimes a single base pair in their genomes. At the same time, looking ahead, we strongly feel that these mostly reductionistic approaches are still culprits of treating the nervous system as a "black box" that generates behavior. The essential workings of neural circuits are ignored. The jump "from molecules to behavior" often ignores the intermediate steps, which not only are necessary to understand in this long series of causal links, but, moreover, could conceivably be the key level where the function of the nervous system is actually organized.

Part of the problem lies in the fact that Neuroscience historically has focused on understanding the nervous system using the individual neuron as its focus of analysis, by using techniques that characterize the response of one neuron at a time. At the same time, most nervous systems are composed of enormous numbers of neurons and connections. In spite of more than a hundred years of Neuroanatomy, these gigantic connectivity matrixes are still largely unexplored, and the general rules by which these complex circuits operate are practically unknown. This set of questions, which one could call "the circuit problem", is a major challenge in modern Neuroscience. Moreover, it is even possible that, in analogy to the Crick-Watson model of DNA, or the Hodgkin and Huxley model of the action potential, there could be a relatively simple solution to a large variety of computational problems that the Nervous System solves. The circuit problem could have a simple answer.

This conference is focused on the function of neural circuits, defined as the mechanisms by which assemblies of neurons generate perception, neural states and behavior. Sessions focus on multidisciplinary analysis to different neural circuits, including retina, olfactory system, hippocampus, striatum and neocortex, and covering species ranging from c. elegans to humans. The common thread is the study of the computational strategies use by these different circuits. The strength of the conference lies in its comparative aspect, since it is likely that evolution has conserved similar strategies for processing information and generating mental states and behavior. Modern Neuroscience encompasses research in tremendous breadth of scales, from the function of channels, to psychophysical or ethological analysis of behavior. While there are conferences that cover each of these levels, this GRC spans many levels and systems, focusing on the analysis of circuits.

Meeting History

Year	Meeting Name	Dates	Conference Site	Chair(s)
2009	Neural Circuits & Plasticity	Jun 7-12	Salve Regina University	Takao K. Hensch
2007	Neural Circuits & Plasticity	Jul 1-6	Salve Regina University	Rafael Yuste
2005	Neural Circuits & Plasticity	Jun 26 - Jul 1	Salve Regina University	Gina G. Turrigiano
2003	Neural Plasticity	Jun 22-27	Salve Regina University	Tobias Bonhoeffer
2001	Neural Plasticity	Jul 15-20	Salve Regina University	Erin M. Schuman
1999	Neural Plasticity	Jul 18-23	Salve Regina University	Larry Katz
1997	Neural Plasticity	Jul 13-18	New England College	Susan J. Hockfield
1995	Neural Plasticity	Jul 16-21	Brewster Academy	Rod Murphey
1993	Neural Plasticity	Jul 18-23	Brewster Academy	Mary B. Kennedy
1991	Neural Plasticity	Jul 8-12	Brewster Academy	Richard E. Zigmond
1989	Neural Plasticity	Jul 17-21	Brewster Academy	Carla J. Shatz
1987	Neural Plasticity	Jul 20-24	Brewster Academy	David L. Wilson
1985	Neural Plasticity, Cellular and Molecular Aspects of	Jul 22-26	Brewster Academy	Adrian J. Dunn
1983	Neural Plasticity, Cellular and Molecular Aspects of	-		Bruce McEwen
1981	Neural Plasticity, Cellular and Molecular Aspects of	-		Steven Arch
1979	Macromolecules and Behavior	-		Edward Bennet
1977	Macromolecules and Behavior	-		Victor E. Shashoua

Back to Index

Search | Contact | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Follow us:

Containing Keyword(s):		within		SEARCH
Note: When searching titles and descriptions using multiple keywords, please be aware that the search will return results where these keywords appear anywhere in a conference's description text (if applicable). If you wish to search for an exact phrase, you need to enclose the keywords in quotes (e.g. "cell death").