Conference: Avian Brain Nomenclature Forum, to be held July 18th-20th, 2002, Durham, NC

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Lack of consensus on terminology and disparate uses of terms have stymied efforts to directly link discoveries in the avian brain with research on the brains of other vertebrates. Nearly 100 years ago, scientists decided that the avian brain, above the level of the thalamus, consists solely of the basal ganglia, which is a ventral part of the mammalian forebrain. In the 1960's, using several molecular markers, this conclusion was shown to be incorrect. However, since then there has been very little agreement on how avian and mammalian brains correspond with one another. As a result, the 100-year old basal ganglia terminology is still used, creating confusion and inaccurate comparisons in scientific research. The purpose of the Avian Brain Nomenclature Forum is to bring together experts in the fields of avian neuroscience and comparative neuroanatomy for the purpose of revising avian brain nomenclature. Participants will prepare for the forum by using a website for information before they attend, and then meet for three days for presentations and discussions. Professors, postdoctoral students and graduate students will try to reach a consensus by the end of the conference. Afterwards, the results will be published and made available at the web site. Popular avian brain atlases will be revised using the consensus normenclature, and will be available via web and CD formats. The impact of this work will go far beyond simply comparative neuroanatomy, because of the strong interest across neuroscience in using birds as models for learning, for development and for studies of behavior including migration and social behavior; additionally, some of the conference output may be interesting to a broader public that is interested in birds.