The 2017 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Inhibition in the Central Nervous System will be held at Les Diablerets Conference Center, Les Diablerets, Switzerland, on June 25-30, 2017. This international research conference has been held every 2 years since 2005 as part of the GRC conference series. It will be preceded on June 24-25, 2017, as in previous editions, by the Gordon Research Seminar (GRS), which is reserved for graduate students and postdocs in order to give them an introduction to the main topics of the GRC. Inhibition, mediated primarily by the neurotransmitter GABA, regulates all aspects of central nervous system (CNS) function and represents a major target for therapeutics. The scientific community working on inhibitory neurotransmission is broad and very dynamic. This GRC provides a major forum bringing together leaders in the field along with rising new stars among early-career investigators. The goal of this meeting is to increase our understanding of the molecular, synaptic and network mechanisms contributing to the critical role of inhibitory neurotransmission in normal and abnormal CNS function. To achieve this goal, the meeting will pursue specific aims that include dissemination of the latest discoveries about inhibition in brain function and dysfunction, promotion of diversity and collaboration within the field, and advancement of the training of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.
These aims will be met by convening 35 world-class speakers and 9 discussion leaders actively working in diverse areas of inhibition from eight different countries (21 from the US; 17 women), ensuring internationality and diversity. The GRC will accommodate up to 200 participants at a five-day conference in an isolated setting. The health relatedness of this application is that discussions at the Inhibition in the CNS GRC/GRS meetings will define the questions that require experimental resolution in areas related to cognition, human development, drug abuse, and a variety of neurological and psychiatric disorders that involve dysregulated inhibition including epilepsy, autism, schizophrenia and other diseases. Taken together, it is expected that the scientific discussions, research talks, poster sessions, and various informal interactions between the diverse participants of this conference will advance our understanding of fundamental mechanisms underlying in CNS function and human disease.
The 2017 Gordon Research Conference on Inhibition in the Central Nervous System will bring together the international community of researchers with the goal of advancing knowledge of how inhibitory neurotransmission contributes to brain function in health and disease. The discussions at this meeting will help define fundamental questions that require experimental resolution in areas that affect human development and cognition, including neurological and psychiatric diseases involving abnormal inhibition, with a special focus on neurodevelopmental brain disorders. Together the scientific program will enhance understanding of fundamental mechanisms involved in central nervous system function as well as promote international collaboration and training of future leaders in the field.
