The area of drug abuse continues to attract multi disciplinary scientific interest because of associated medical, social and economic problems. The focus of the 1997 FASEB Summer Research Conference to be held August 10-15, 1997, at Copper Mountain, Colorado, will be on the behavioral and neural plasticity associated with repeated exposure to various classes of abused drugs (opiates, stimulants, nicotine, cannabinoids, etc.). Attendees will be limited to 155 participants including the 49 conference faculty. The conference will consist of five scientific sessions entitled molecular, pharmacological and behavioral adaptations in tolerance and sensitization, genetic vulnerability to drug abuse, molecular analyses of transmitter actions, neural and behavioral consequences of drug withdrawal, craving as a consequence of chronic drug abuse, and targets for drug abuse intervention. The forma will include invited presentations, point-counterpoint debates, technical workshops and poster presentations. Funds are requested to support travel awards for six predoctoral students, six postdoctoral students and six young investigators. Availability of these positions will be advertised in journals and society newsletters. Applications from eligible individuals will include a completed application form, an abstract of research to be presented as a poster and two letters of reference. A panel of three scientists, including one of the conference organizers, will review all applications and make funding decisions. Funds are also requested to partially defray the cost of travel for 30 of the 49 conference faculty. Research on the biological basis of drug abuse is a growing and rapidly changing field which is being fueled not only by traditional research technologies in psychopharmacology, but by the recent incorporation of molecular biological tools. Because of the rapid advances being made, there is a critical need to provide a forum for communication amongst the diverse groups involved in this research effort. This need can be met by the FASEB Summer Research Conference which provides an interactive environment not typically achieved at larger meetings and one which is most likely to result in new and novel collaborative approaches to understanding the role of neural and behavioral plasticity in chronic drug abuse.
