This is a proposal to plan and carry out a second Spring Hill Conference on Genetics and Epilepsy. Invited participants will meet for three days (July 19-22, 1990) at the Spring Hill Conference Center in Wayzata, Minnesota, 25 miles west of Minneapolis. The proposed conference will be convened ten years after the First Spring Hill Conference on Genetics and Epilepsy (July 20-23, 1980) at which was supported by a grant from NINCDS. That conference and the resulting publication proved to be very effective in stimulating both individual and collaborative efforts, which have resulted in expanded research in molecular biology, genetics, and neuroscience. Some of the questions posed then have been essentially resolved, but many new questions have emerged. The objectives of the 1990 conference will be: (a) a critical review of the present status of our knowledge about genetics and epilepsy, (b) a consideration of modifications in current research strategies that would provide more effective answers to important questions, and (c) the identification of research strategies that have not yet been applied to the problem but that appear to hold strong promise. A major change from 1980 will be the addition of specialists in the neurosciences and molecular genetics. Some of these approaches are beginning to be applied to the study of epilepsy, but other techniques are relevant and should be encouraged. This proposal requests support for 60 participants: 25 speakers, 30 invited research scientists who will share in the discuss;on, and 5 staff. The facilities will permit attendance and participation by another 35 researchers, but at their own expense.
