Cannabinoid function in the CNS is a Gordon Conference whose aim is to bring together established scientists, post-docs, and graduate students interested in the neurobiology of endogenous and exogenous cannabinoids. It will be held every other year, alternating between US and European sites. The next meeting, in 2007 will be held in early fall in Les Diablerets, Switzerland. Ongoing work from a number of labs suggests that endogenous cannabinoids (endocannabinoids) play a major role in regulating short and long-term plasticity, neurodevelopment, and neuroprotection. Simultaneously, it is becoming clear that endocannabinoids are involved in several forms of behavior, including specific forms of reward for commonly abused drugs. Finally, the implications of the widespread recreational and therapeutic use of cannabinoids on the efficacy of endocannabinoid signaling are just beginning to be appreciated. It is the goal of this conference to periodically explore and integrate these relationships in depth and to identify the most important and rewarding areas to be investigated in the cannabinoid field for the next several years. Examples of topics to be investigated include: Pharmacological probes of the endocannabinoid system;Endocannabinoid synthesis and inactivation;Cannabinoid receptors and signal transduction;Cannabinoid interaction with other signaling systems;Cannabinoids and short &long term plasticity;Cannabinoids and reward: food, sex, &aversion;Endocannabinoid involvement in neuronal development;and Adaptive changes following chronic cannabinoid use.
