Classical Fear/Threat Conditioning and Beyond

The amygdala is an evolutionarily ancient collection of nuclei located in the brain’s temporal lobe. Although perhaps best known for its well-studied role in the detecting, predicting and responding to fearful or threatening stimuli, growing evidence indicates that the amygdala plays a more general role in mediating responses to biologically relevant stimuli - be they challenges or opportunities. Because intact amygdala function is important in many aspects of an organism’s survival and health, dysfunction of this region may underlie human psychiatric disorders, ranging from anxiety disorders, to addictions, to autism.

The 2015 Gordon Conference on the "Amygdala in Health and Disease" will bring together internationally renowned basic and clinical researchers to present cutting-edge cellular, molecular, circuit, computational, and behavioral data on amygdala function and dysfunction, across species. This conference will also highlight important new tools and techniques that may be applied to the study of the amygdala, with the hope of inspiring new scientific questions and opening novel avenues of research. Our outstanding cast of speakers reflects the meeting’s interdisciplinary breadth and overall diversity. In fact, we believe that our diversity of perspective (clinical and basic scientists who study the amygdala in rodents, non-human primates and human primates), career stage (post-docs to emeritus), geography (all continents), and speaker identity (racial/ethnic, gender and physical challenge) accords this GRC with a unique flavor and freshness.

The highly collegial and interactive atmosphere of this conference, with programmed discussion sessions guided by pioneers in the field, as well as ample opportunities for informal interactions in the afternoons and evenings, provides multiple avenues for scientists from different backgrounds, career stage and disciplines to network and brainstorm together, and promote cross-disciplinary collaborations in a multitude of specific research areas. Importantly, the 2015 conference will be preceded by a Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) that is designed and chaired by young scientists to discuss both science and careers. We predict a lively exchange of ideas and data, making this 5th edition of the GRC on the Amygdala in Health and Disease a highlight in the scientific calendar.