We are requesting partial support for the next three Molecular and Cellular Cognition (MCC) Meetings. The next Conference will be held in the San Diego Convention Center on November 11th and 12th, 2010, right before the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. The MCC meeting brings together junior and senior scientists that combine molecular (pharmacology, genetics, transgenics, viral approaches, etc) and physiological (electrophysiology, optical physiology) and other cellular approaches to study behavior, including learning and memory. The general goal of these studies is to derive explanations of cognitive processes that integrate molecular, cellular, and behavioral mechanisms, as well as to use this information and related animal models in the search for treatments for cognitive, psychiatric and neurological disorders in children, adults and the elderly. These meetings have been organized under the sponsorship and leadership of the Molecular and Cellular Cognition Society (MCCS) (www.molcellcog.org), a society that started in 2002 and whose main function is to organize meetings and promote interaction and collaborations among laboratories working in this general area. Although there are a few learning and memory meetings in the USA and abroad, the Molecular and Cellular Cognition meeting is unique because it brings together individuals that integrate molecular, physiological and behavioral approaches in studies of cognition, memory and learning related disorders. Although the molecular and cellular cognition field is relatively new, it has already had a profound impact on neuroscience research. Currently, this is the only periodic meeting in the field, an invaluable opportunity to exchange information, and develop this young field. The 2007-2009 meetings were highly successful, attracting each year a diverse group of approximately 500 participants from North America, Europe, and Asia, and we have every reason to believe that the 2010-2012 meetings will be equally successful. (Summaries at www.molcellcog.org/meetings.htm).
The Molecular and Cellular Cognition Society meeting brings together junior and senior scientists that combine molecular (pharmacology, genetics, transgenics, viral approaches, etc) and physiological (electrophysiology, optical physiology) and other cellular approaches to study behavior, including learning and memory. The general goal of these studies is to derive explanations of cognitive processes that integrate molecular, cellular, and behavioral mechanisms. This is essential for the understanding of disease of cognitive functions.
