Request is being made from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to sponsor the symposium titled """"""""Neuropeptides and Drug Addiction: Recent Developments in Corticotropin-Releasing Factor Research"""""""" to be held as a part of the 1999 Summer Neuropeptide Conference to be held in Key West, Florida from June 27-July 1. The goal of the symposium is to bring together leaders in the fields of peptide and drug abuse research to discuss their latest findings of the role of the neuropeptide CRF in drug abuse. This symposium will provide important, timely information to aid in understanding the mechanisms of drug addiction and withdrawal, and will focus on neuropeptide and neuroendocrine systems, including the HPA axis, as mediators of reward and addiction. Specifically, we are requesting funds for meeting expenses for the five invited speakers in this symposium, and for several graduate student/predoctoral trainee travel awards, for a total request of $11,600. The Summer Neuropeptide Conference, now in its ninth year, has become one of the premier international meetings for neuropeptide research. The conference highlights major new advances in neuropeptide research and attracts a good mixture of senior and junior participants from academia and industry throughout the world. Active participation by graduate and postdoctoral trainees, as well as by women and minority scientists, is strongly encouraged. The formal of the conference involves morning and evening symposia, a poster session, a conference banquet, and a plenary lecture by a distinguished scientist. The format, coupled with the informal setting, provides an ideal forum for the exchange of current information and the development of new collaborations among the participants.
