Neural Mechanisms of Acoustic Communication Gordon Research Conference

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This award will provide support to students, post-doctoral fellows and junior scientists to attend the 2022 Gordon Research Conference on the Neural Basis of Acoustic Communication (NMAC). Different species often feature distinct communication strategies for the production and perception of acoustic social signals, and a comparative approach to the study of the neural mechanisms underlying acoustic communication can lend insight into general mechanisms of neural function. A major challenge in the study of acoustic communication is the segregation of information between human and nonhuman research as well as the isolated communities that focus on individual model systems. The NMAC is a new scientific meeting created to bring together a highly interdisciplinary group of researchers to better understand how the brain encodes and produces acoustic signals. This meeting will bring together outstanding senior and junior scientists for discussions of the recent advances in the field. The NMAC conference will help to reveal new principles concerning acoustic communication. Topics of this inaugural program include vocal development and learning, vocal interactions, auditory specializations, genomics, predictive coding, and cortical mechanisms of vocal production. The comparative approach that is at the heart of neuroethology, will facilitate the identification of common principles of brain organization and function that underlie acoustic communication. The results presented at the meeting will have the potential to guide future developments in multiple areas, including neural inspired design of engineered systems that will have considerable societal benefits. The value of this meeting derives from its small size, which promotes interactions between participants, and the assembly of many top scientists whose research spans neurobiology, animal behavior and human clinical disorders. It spans a wide variety of experimental systems and focuses on areas of exceptional activity or promise. This combination leads to fruitful comparative analyses, raises new questions about underlying mechanisms and often leads to new collaborations. By maximizing both formal discussion and informal interactions, the NMAC will highlight exciting new developments in study of the communication processes that are essential for animal behavior and also lie at the heart of disorders. With respect to broader impacts, this meeting will benefit the larger community in multiple ways. First, it will help train and inspire the next generation of scientists, by exposing students and postdoctoral fellows to exciting science and scientists. Second, mentoring sessions, both formal and informal, as well as professional development sessions for junior researchers, will be organized for the benefit of junior researchers to help them make informed choices about scientific careers in academia and beyond. Finally, a concerted effort will be made to recruit scientists from under-represented groups.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.