Until recently, our understanding of the organization and development of the primary olfactory pathway lagged far behind our understanding of developmental processes in the visual and auditory systems. In the last half decade, however, technical and conceptual breakthroughs have allowed astonishing progress toward understanding the olfactory pathway. The proposed conference will provide a timely accounting of the current status of research in olfactory development. It is designed with three specific objectives: (1) to identify critical puzzles of olfactory development that must be solved, (2) to highlight promising approaches to solving these puzzles, and (3) to provide direction for essential research in the next few years. The conference will thus be a working conference, utilizing as its primary mechanism a series of discussion sessions whose moderators and panels will reflect the field's longstanding cross-phylogenetic tradition, in which a broad array of animal systems is used to investigate both the developing and mature olfactory system. Seven discussion sessions are planned: 1) induction and specification of the olfactory periphery and bulb, 2) molecular patterning of the periphery, 3) cellular development and plasticity of the periphery, 4) olfactory receptor axon guidance and targeting, 5) construction of glomeruli, 6) behaviorally induced plasticity in the developing bulb, and 7) summary, including focus on future directions. The conference is intended mainly for members of the broad olfactory community, at all levels including trainees. Several delegates whose primary research areas lie in other sensory systems but whose interests lie in related developmental questions also will be invited.
| Brunjes, Peter C; Greer, Charles A (2003) Progress and directions in olfactory development. Neuron 38:371-4 |
