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Thalamocortical Interactions

Gordon Research Conference

Development, Function and Dysfunction of Thalamocortical Networks

February 18 - 23, 2018
Chair
Vice Chairs and
Renaissance Tuscany Il Ciocco
Via Giovanni Pascoli
Lucca (Barga), Lucca, Italy
 Venue and Travel Information

Conference Description

The conference will bring together experimentalists and theoreticians at all career stages, from pre- and postdoctoral fellows to assistant and full professors, to present and discuss the latest advances in our understanding of the organization, development, function, and plasticity of thalamocortical networks, and the impact of disease on thalamocortical interactions. A particular strength of the conference will be the cross talk and discussion that will be emphasized and generated between basic-science and clinical researchers studying thalamocortical interactions at different spatial and temporal scales as well as across different sensory, motor and cognitive modalities.

Related Meeting

This GRC will be held in conjunction with the "Thalamocortical Interactions" Gordon Research Seminar (GRS). Those interested in attending both meetings must submit an application for the GRS in addition to an application for the GRC. Refer to the associated GRS program page for more information.

Conference Program

Sunday
4:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Arrival and Check-in
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Dinner
7:30 pm - 7:40 pm
Introductory Comments by GRC Site Staff / Welcome from the GRC Chair
7:40 pm - 9:30 pm
Keynote Session: Evolution of Thalamocortical Networks and Their Role in Sensation, Action, and Cognition
Session in honor of Drs. Ray Guillery and Vivien Casagrande.
Discussion Leader:
7:40 pm - 7:45 pm
Opening Remarks
7:45 pm - 7:50 pm
Introduction by Discussion Leader
7:50 pm - 8:25 pm
"Evolution of Thalamocortical Relationships"
8:25 pm - 8:40 pm
Discussion
8:40 pm - 9:15 pm
"A View of Cortex from the Thalamus"
9:15 pm - 9:30 pm
Discussion
Monday
7:30 am - 8:30 am
Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm
Development and Plasticity of Neural Circuits Interconnecting Thalamus and Cortex
Discussion Leader:
9:00 am - 9:10 am
Introduction by Discussion Leader
9:10 am - 9:30 am
"Thalamic Origins of Fetal Brain Activity"
9:30 am - 9:40 am
Discussion
9:40 am - 10:00 am
"The Mesencephalon Is a Source of Thalamic GABA Interneurons"
10:00 am - 10:10 am
Discussion
10:10 am - 10:30 am
"Thalamocortical Input Controls Cell Diversity in Somatosensory Cortex"
10:30 am - 10:40 am
Discussion
10:40 am - 11:10 am
Coffee Break
11:10 am - 11:30 am
"Transient Visual Pathway Critical for Normal Development of Primate Grasping Behaviour"
11:30 am - 11:40 am
Discussion
11:40 am - 12:00 pm
"Cross-Modal Recovery of Thalamocortical Plasticity in Adults"
12:00 pm - 12:10 pm
Discussion
12:10 pm - 12:30 pm
General Discussion
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm
Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Free Time
4:30 pm - 6:00 pm
Poster Session
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Genetic and Molecular Variability of Thalamic Cells and Nuclei
Discussion Leader:
6:00 pm - 6:10 pm
Introduction by Discussion Leader
6:10 pm - 6:30 pm
"Ontogenetic Development and Organization of the Mouse Thalamus"
6:30 pm - 6:40 pm
Discussion
6:40 pm - 7:00 pm
"Transcriptome-Guided Identification of Cellular Phenotypes in the Auditory Forebrain"
7:00 pm - 7:10 pm
Discussion
7:10 pm - 7:30 pm
"Molecular, Cellular and Functional Diversity of the Thalamic Reticular Nucleus"
7:30 pm - 7:40 pm
Discussion
7:40 pm - 8:00 pm
General Discussion
8:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Dinner
Tuesday
7:30 am - 8:30 am
Breakfast
8:30 am - 9:00 am
Group Photo
9:00 am - 12:30 pm
Sensory Information Transfer
Discussion Leader:
9:00 am - 9:10 am
Introduction by Discussion Leader
9:10 am - 9:30 am
"Modulation of Visual Information in the Thalamus by a Novel Axo-Axonal Synapse"
9:30 am - 9:40 am
Discussion
9:40 am - 10:00 am
"Modulation of Primary Somatosensory Cortex by Secondary Thalamus"
10:00 am - 10:10 am
Discussion
10:10 am - 10:30 am
"Thalamic Functions in Head-Whisker Perceptual Coordination"
10:30 am - 10:40 am
Discussion
10:40 am - 11:10 am
Coffee Break
11:10 am - 11:30 am
"Advantages of Parallel Thalamocortical Pathways for Classifying Sounds"
11:30 am - 11:40 am
Discussion
11:40 am - 12:00 pm
"Computational Strategies for Processing and Communicating Sensory Information"
12:00 pm - 12:10 pm
Discussion
12:10 pm - 12:30 pm
General Discussion
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm
Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Free Time
4:30 pm - 6:00 pm
Poster Session
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Cortical Processing of Thalamic Information
Discussion Leader:
6:00 pm - 6:10 pm
Introduction by Discussion Leader
6:10 pm - 6:30 pm
"Synaptic Dynamics of Thalamocortical Inputs in Sensory Cortical Circuits"
6:30 pm - 6:40 pm
Discussion
6:40 pm - 7:00 pm
"Synaptic Architecture for Functional Selectivity in Visual Cortex"
7:00 pm - 7:10 pm
Discussion
7:10 pm - 7:30 pm
"Data-Driven Mathematical Modeling of Thalamocortical Dynamics"
7:30 pm - 7:40 pm
Discussion
7:40 pm - 8:00 pm
General Discussion
8:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Dinner
Wednesday
7:30 am - 8:30 am
Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm
"Top Down" Influences of Thalamocortical Activity
Discussion Leader:
9:00 am - 9:10 am
Introduction by Discussion Leader
9:10 am - 9:30 am
"Network Topologies of Corticothalamic Projections"
9:30 am - 9:40 am
Discussion
9:40 am - 10:00 am
"Synaptic and Intrinsic Mechanisms of Corticothalamic Regulation"
10:00 am - 10:10 am
Discussion
10:10 am - 10:30 am
"Cortical Layer with No Known Function"
10:30 am - 10:40 am
Discussion
10:40 am - 11:10 am
Coffee Break
11:10 am - 11:30 am
"The Cortical States of Non-REM Sleep: Insights from an Infra-Slow Oscillation in Cortical Sleep Spindle Activity"
11:30 am - 11:40 am
Discussion
11:40 am - 12:00 pm
"Thalamic Dual-Control of Sleep and Wakefulness"
12:00 pm - 12:10 pm
Discussion
12:10 pm - 12:30 pm
General Discussion
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm
Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Free Time
4:30 pm - 6:00 pm
Poster Session
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Thalamic Function and Its Alteration in Diseased States
Discussion Leader:
6:00 pm - 6:05 pm
Introduction by Discussion Leader
6:05 pm - 6:25 pm
"Thalamo-Prefrontal Interactions in Working Memory"
6:25 pm - 6:30 pm
Discussion
6:30 pm - 6:50 pm
"Thalamic Dysconnectivity in Schizophrenia and in Youth at Clinical High Risk for Schizophrenia"
6:50 pm - 6:55 pm
Discussion
6:55 pm - 7:15 pm
"Regulation of Inhibitory Perisomatic Synapses by NCAM and EphrinA/EphA3 in Prefrontal Cortical Circuits"
7:15 pm - 7:20 pm
Discussion
7:20 pm - 7:40 pm
"Thalamic Firing During Absence Seizures"
7:40 pm - 7:45 pm
Discussion
7:45 pm - 8:00 pm
General Discussion
8:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Dinner
Thursday
7:30 am - 8:30 am
Breakfast
8:30 am - 9:00 am
Business Meeting
Nominations for the Next Vice Chair; Fill in Conference Evaluation Forms; Discuss Future Site and Scheduling Preferences; Election of the Next Vice Chair
9:00 am - 12:30 pm
Contributions of Thalamus to Motor Function
Discussion Leader:
9:00 am - 9:10 am
Introduction by Discussion Leader
9:10 am - 9:30 am
"A Three-Dimensional Compass in the Anterior Thalamus"
9:30 am - 9:40 am
Discussion
9:40 am - 10:00 am
"Thalamic Role in Coordinating Saccades and Vision"
10:00 am - 10:10 am
Discussion
10:10 am - 10:30 am
"Cortical Modulation of Motor Thalamus Activity in Awake Monkeys"
10:30 am - 10:40 am
Discussion
10:40 am - 11:10 am
Coffee Break
11:10 am - 11:30 am
"Motor Thalamus Is Required for Stable Reinforcement Learning"
11:30 am - 11:40 am
Discussion
11:40 am - 12:00 pm
"Sensory and Internal Signals for Brainstem Control of Active Sensing"
12:00 pm - 12:10 pm
Discussion
12:10 pm - 12:30 pm
General Discussion
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm
Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Free Time
4:30 pm - 6:00 pm
Poster Session
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Non-Classical Thalamic Functions
Discussion Leader:
6:00 pm - 6:10 pm
Introduction by Discussion Leader
6:10 pm - 6:30 pm
"Inhibitory Control of a Thalamic Stress Circuit"
6:30 pm - 6:40 pm
Discussion
6:40 pm - 7:00 pm
"Contribution of the Pulvinar to Spatial Decisions"
7:00 pm - 7:10 pm
Discussion
7:10 pm - 7:30 pm
"Orchestrating the Formation and Maintenance of Opioid-Associated Memory in the Thalamic Circuits"
7:30 pm - 7:40 pm
Discussion
7:40 pm - 8:00 pm
General Discussion
8:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Dinner
Friday
7:30 am - 8:30 am
Breakfast
9:00 am
Departure

Contributors

Gordon Research Conferences
National Science Foundation
National Institutes of Health - National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

The Esther A. & Joseph Klingenstein Fund

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders And Stroke of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number 1R13NS105425-01. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Conference Links

Conference History Thalamocortical Interactions (GRS)
Additional Fee Info

Eye Movements
July 6 - 11, 2025
Hypothalamus
August 16 - 21, 2026
Inhibition in the CNS
July 6 - 11, 2025
Neural Development
August 2 - 7, 2026
Neurobiology of Cognition
July 19 - 24, 2026
Thalamocortical Interactions (GRS)
February 21 - 22, 2026
Visual System Development
August 9 - 14, 2026


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