The annual meeting of Advances and Perspectives in Auditory Neurophysiology (APAN; www.med.upenn.edu/APAN/) is a one-day satellite meeting of the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience; the first APAN symposium was in 2003. APAN is held the day prior to the start of the Society for Neuroscience meeting. In 2014, this date will be November 14. The typical attendance of APAN is approximately 200 participants. Because the funda-mental goal of hearing science and auditory neuroscience is to understand the biological basis of sound perception and to use this knowledge to mitigate hearing disorders, the primary Aim of APAN is to bring together the cohort of auditory neuroscientists who are engaged in identifying the neural correlates (both cortical and sub-cortical) of auditory behavior-including the perceptual, cog-nitive, and sensorimotor factors-that underlie communication processing, multi-sensory processing, and neural plasticity. Bringing together this group of scientists in this forum is critical because many of th theoretical approaches, techniques, and methodologies of this research field are relatively unique and not shared by other hearing researchers. Consequently, a focused symposium spurs the scientific enterprise in this important research area.
Our second Aim i s to facilitate meaningful and educational inter-actions between junior and senior auditory neuroscientists throughout the program and to promote meritorious women and minority scientists. In our selection criteria for oral presentations, we have consistently, since our inception, highlighted the contributions of junior scientists as well as women and minority scientists. In 2013, we established poster teasers that give a cadre of junior scientists' opportunities to draw attention to their posters as a short oral presentation. In 2014, we have established a Young Investigator Spotlight talk that will feature an outstanding junior scientist We plan on continuing to offer travel awards for junior scientists that offset the cost of travel t APAN. At a programmatic level, we are proud that women scientists have always been a substantial contingent of members on the Program Committee and, more currently, on the Organizing Committee. Finally, APAN is extremely relevant to the scientific mission of the NIDCD for three reasons. First, most scientists at this symposium are funded through NIDCD mech-anisms, and conduct basic research on auditory processing and plasticity, both with and without hear-ing prosthetics. Second, APAN provides an out-standing training opportunity for junior auditory neuro-scientists. Finally, the translational and clinical impact of many of the presentations is high due to their focus on fundamental mechanisms underlying auditory perception, whose dysfunction can lead to various hearing-related problems.
The translational and clinical impact of the APAN is high due to its focus on fundamental mechanisms underlying auditory perception, whose dysfunction can lead to various hearing-related problems. APAN has become the premier venue for disseminating and forging collaborations on these key scientific issues. It also provides an opportunity for fostering and developing the next generation of hearing scientists.
