Workshop on the Evolution of the First Nervous Systems-- St. Andrews, Scotland: July 1989

将举行一个研讨会，介绍和讨论与早期神经系统如何进化有关的数据。研究各种原始生物的不同学科的专家将出席会议。神经系统的三个主要区域将被检查。(1)兴奋性——电压门控离子通道的存在和性质。(2)细胞间通信——细胞间相互通信的方法。非常原始生物的细胞间通讯可能是高级神经系统突触传递的先驱。(3)感觉转导——细胞以及高等动物的特殊感觉受体将环境刺激转化为有用细胞事件的能力。研讨会将持续4天，包括邀请专家的演讲，其他参与者的演讲海报会议和由公认专家“领导”的有组织的讨论。

A workshop will be held to present and discuss data relevant to the question of how early nervous systems evolved. Specialists in various disciplines working with a range of primitive organisms will attend. Three major areas of the nervous system will be examined. (1) Excitability--the presence and properties of voltage-gated ion channels. (2) Intercellular communication-- the methods used by cells to communicate with one another. Intercellular communication in very primitive organisms may be the forerunner of synaptic transmission in higher nervous systems. (3) Sensory transduction--the ability of cells and, in higher animals, specialized sensory receptors to transduce environmental stimuli into useful cellular events. The workshop will last 4 days and consist of talks by invited experts, poster sessions for presentations by other participants and organized discussions "lead" by recognized experts.