We are requesting partial support for the next Molecular and Cellular Cognition (MCC) Meeting. The Conference will be held in the San Diego Convention Center on October 21st and 22nd, 2004, right before the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. The MCC meeting brings together junior and senior scientists that combine molecular (pharmacology, genetics, transgenics, viral approaches, etc) and physiological (electrophysiology, optical physiology and other cellular approaches) to study behavior, including learning and memory. The general goal of these studies is to derive explanations of cognitive ? processes that integrate molecular, cellular, and behavioral mechanisms, as well as to use this information and related animal models in the search for treatments for cognitive, psychiatric and neurological disorders in children, adults and the elderly. These meetings have been organized under the sponsorship and leadership of the Molecular and Cellular Cognition Society (MCCS), a new group whose main function is to organize meetings and promote interaction and collaborations among laboratories working in this general area. Although there are several learning and memory meetings in the USA and abroad, the Molecular and Cellular Cognition meeting is unique because it brings together individuals that integrate molecular, physiological and behavioral approaches in studies of memory and related disorders. Although the molecular and cellular cognition field is relatively new, it has already had a profound impact on neuroscience research. Importantly, in the last 5 years there has been an exponential increase in both the number of papers published, and the number of new groups that joined this area of research, which currently includes more than 100 laboratories. Currently, this is the only periodic meeting in the field, an invaluable opportunity to exchange information, and develop this young field. The 2002 and 2003 meetings were highly successful, attracting each year a diverse group of approximately 400 participants from North America, Europe, and Asia, and we have every reason to believe that the 2004 meeting will be equally successful. ? ? ?
