The Gordon Conference on The Cell Biology of the Neuron will provide an informal but unique forum for scientists working in this rapidly developing field. Sessions will be devoted to, among others, the following topics: the release of neurotransmitter, the biogenesis of the synaptic vesicle, the mechanisms of transport along axons, the extension of growth cones and the specific adhesion of neurons to their correct targets. These processes are tightly regulated in neurons; hence considerable attention will be addressed to the regulation of neuronal function and development by signalling mechanisms. Recent data on the storing of neurotransmitter will lead to discussion of ways to select mutants in synaptic transmission. Disease states of the neuron and possible therapeutic approaches will be a significant concern of the meeting. For example, we will discuss aberrations in neuronal endocytosis pathways that appear in Alzheimer's disease, the role of intermediate filament proteins in neurodegenerative diseases, the understanding of Parkinson's disease that comes from research on norephinephrine uptake and recent clarifications of how the neurotoxins act.
