2017 Gordon Research Conference on Neuroethology: Behavior, Evolution & Neurobiology : Neural, Behavioral and Evolutionary Strategies for Survival

了解大脑中的神经元如何控制复杂的功能是神经科学的主要目标。遗传学的进步提高了我们理解这些细胞以及它们如何相互作用的精确度，但大多数工作都是在少数实验室生物体中进行的。这使得人们很难评估从这类研究中得出的关于大脑功能的发现有多有代表性，也很难评估类似的过程是否适用于其他动物，包括人类。由该奖项支持的会议将年轻的研究人员聚集在一起，他们研究大脑机制，使更多样化的有机体群体能够解决自然环境中的复杂问题。集中的谈话和讨论使他们能够分享想法，从而确定共同的大脑属性，使不同的动物有可能解决与生存相关的问题。会议还包括具有使用在实验室生物体中开发的遗传方法的专业知识的与会者，以鼓励他们的同事考虑如何在他们自己未来的研究中在更多样化的物种群体中采用这种方法。演讲者和与会者中有很高比例是女性，会议包括一个关于女性在科学领域面临的独特挑战以及如何克服这些挑战的研讨会。最终，这次会议鼓励我们国家未来的科学家，特别是科学界一些最有前途的年轻女性，朝着最终将帮助我们确定使复杂功能成为可能的大脑基本属性的方向前进。这是一个大约有130人参加的小型会议，其中大多数是研究生、博士后助理和初级调查人员。它在半偏远的环境中进行了5天多的时间，以促进关于大脑机制的密集和广泛的讨论，这些机制使不同的生物体群体能够在复杂的自然环境中生存。会议包括9场，每场都聚焦神经行为学领域的一个特定主题，每场1-2场演讲，每次演讲后有大量的讨论时间。一些受邀的参与者使用了在其他物种的模型生物中开发的一些遗传和分子工具，他们被包括在该项目中，以推动年轻科学家考虑如何也利用这些工具来提高他们在自然环境中研究非实验室动物神经系统的精确度。超过三分之二的参与者和发言者是妇女，有一个专门的讲习班，解决与提高妇女在科学方面的进步有关的独特挑战。最终，会议鼓励年轻科学家比较在不同生物体群体中进化的机制，以解决它们进化环境中存在的生存挑战，并通过这样做来确定对调节复杂过程至关重要的大脑功能的基本原则。

Understanding how neurons in the brain control complex functions is a primary goal of neuroscience. Advances in genetics have increased the precision with which we can understand those cells and how they interact, but most of that work has been developed in a small number of laboratory organisms. This makes it difficult to assess how representative the findings about brain functions that have emerged from such studies are, and whether or not similar processes are operative in other animals, including humans. The conference supported by this award brings young researchers together who study the brain mechanisms that allow a more diverse group of organisms to solve complex problems in their natural environments. Focused talks and discussions allow them to share ideas about and thus identify the common brain properties that make it possible for different animals to solve problems related to survival. The conference also includes participants with expertise using the genetic approaches that have been developed in laboratory organisms to encourage their colleagues to consider how to adapt such approaches in their own future studies in a more diverse group of species. A high proportion of the speakers and participants are women, and the conference includes a workshop about the unique challenges faced by women in science and how to overcome them. Ultimately, this meeting thus encourages our nation's future scientists, particularly some of the most promising young women in science, to move in directions that will ultimately help us identify the fundamental properties of the brain that make complex functions possible. This is a small meeting of approximately 130 participants, most of whom are graduate students, postdoctoral associates, and beginning investigators. It takes place over 5 days in a semi-remote setting to foster intensive and extensive discussions about the brain mechanisms that have allowed a diverse group of organisms to survive in complex natural environments. The meeting includes 9 sessions, each of which focuses on a particular topic in the field of neuroethology, with 1-2 talks per session and extensive time for discussion after each talk. Several invited participants who have used some of the genetic and molecular tools that have been developed in model organisms in other species are included in the program to push young scientists to think about how they might also take advantage of those tools to increase the precision with which they can study the nervous systems in non-laboratory animals in naturalistic environments. Over 2/3 of the participants and speakers are women, and there is a special workshop that addresses the unique challenges associated with advancement in science for women. Ultimately, the conference encourages young scientists to compare the mechanisms that have evolved in different groups of organisms to solve the challenges to survival present in the environments in which they evolved, and in so doing to identify the fundamental principles of brain function that are critical for the regulation of complex processes.