The broad objective of the conference is to provide a forum for in-depth dialogue in the area of Neural Control of Behavior, with the goal of coming up with ways that investigators can take their research in new directions.
The specific aims to meet this goal are the following: Bring together researchers who are asking similar questions in the area of Neural Control of Behavior, but are using different model systems (from worm, to fly, to bird, to mammal) and different experimental approaches (from molecular genetics, to cellular and systems physiology, to behavior); Promote the use of simple model systems for addressing complex biological problems in the field of Neural Control of Behavior; Promote interaction between junior scientists -women in particular - and established investigators and leaders in the field. The meeting will take place over the course of 3 days. The first two days will be devoted to a symposium that will be open to the general scientific community (est. 150 registrants). There will be a total of four sessions with 5 speakers per session: (1) Control of Sexual Behavior: Links Between the External Environment and Internal Regulatory Events; (2) It's About Time: Temporal Organization of Behavior; (3) Cognition and Memory; (4) Auditory and Electrical Communication. The speakers represent a balance of model system (use of invertebrate, lower vertebrate, and mammal) and experimental approach (use of molecular, cellular, systems, and behavioral levels of analyses), career level and gender. The third day of the meeting will be devoted to an intimate workshop of the speakers and conference participants (est. 30 participants).
The aim of the workshop is to discuss strengths of the different model systems and experimental approaches discussed during the symposium, and come up with ways that we can use that information to take our respective research areas in new directions. The speakers at this meeting use modern, cutting-edge technologies for addressing problems in the area of Neural Control of Behavior. By bringing together these researchers, and giving them a forum for discussing their experimental approaches, the message can be effectively spread that these modern techniques can (and are) being used with great success in a wide variety of model systems. This will provide an important interdisciplinary communications-mechanism for advancements in the basic-science biomedical community.
