This application seeks to facilitate participation of both junior and senior U.S. investigators in the International Conference on Mental Retardation: Genes, Brain, and Behavior. Scientific research in mental retardation has involved three related domains: genetic and environmental causes, brain mechanisms, and behavioral expression. Treatments emanating from behavioral research have been successful in improving the quality of life for individuals with mental retardation. Brain researchers are beginning to elucidate the mechanisms linking biological causes to behavioral expression. More recently, genetic research has come to the threshold of treatment to eliminate genetic causes of mental retardation. The proposed international, interdisciplinary conference is being convened to provide a forum for leading scientists and their associates in the fields of genetics, teratology, neuroscience, neurobiology, and behavioral science to share their latest findings, evaluate the data reported, discuss the interdisciplinary implications of their findings, and develop collaborations to further the prevention and treatment of mental retardation and other developmental disabilities.
The specific aims of this grant application are to attract leading U.S. scientists to present at the conference and to encourage talented junior American investigators to attend. Mental retardation is a major medical, financial and emotional burden for many of our citizens. In addition, a significant amount of public funding is required for care of the mentally retarded, as for example, a recent GAO report noted that the population with developmental disabilities receives more than $13 billion annually in public funding for long-term care alone. Thus it is a worthwhile goal to develop strategies for prevention and treatment. The rapid advances in identification of genes related to mental retardation resulting in technological developments stimulated by the Human Genome Project, along with the recent and exciting insights into brain function and behavior need to be integrated into a context that has direct relevance for mental retardation. It is timely to hold an international conference where experts in these various disciplines can share findings, develop interdisciplinary perspectives and stimulate future research into prevention and treatment.
