2011 Gordon Research Conference & GRS Neuroethology: Behavior, Evolution & Neurob

描述(由申请人提供)：这项提案要求部分支持作为戈登研究会议系列的一部分的神经行为学国际会议。会议将于2011年8月14日至19日在美国马萨诸塞州斯通希尔学院举行，在此之前将于8月13日至14日举行研究生研究研讨会。这次正在进行的会议的长期目标是增加我们对神经回路的发展、功能和进化的理解。2011年的会议以几个会议为特色，调查动物如何在特定物种的感官世界中生活。关键问题是：我们能否利用对感官系统的理解，将神经科学和生态学(“神经生态学”)联系起来？本次会议的具体目的是召集代表神经行为学前沿的22位专家演讲者和18位讨论领袖，总共135-150名与会者，在选定的促进互动的学术环境中举行为期5天的会议。其目的将是在神经行为学的各个子学科之间引发为期一天的讨论。主节目将包括两位开幕式(主旨)演讲者和八个科学会议。这两场主旨演讲将通过表观遗传学的主题联系在一起，迫使神经行为学家考虑如何将受试者的个人生活史整合到神经回路分析中。三场会议将集中于感官世界：一场关于转导，一场关于感觉整合，还有一场关于自然任务的神经处理。一个相关的会议将使用昆虫和哺乳动物所感觉到的触摸来讨论神经行为学研究如何为生物工程做出贡献的主题。其中一次会议将讨论与大脑大小和行为相关的问题。另外两次会议的重点是信息处理的成本，以及将即刻早期基因表达的测量作为神经行为学工具的可能性。每天的海报会议将允许所有参与者为会议做出贡献，组织者将鼓励与正式会议相关的海报提交。这项申请的意义在于，戈登神经行为学研究会议是团结国际神经行为学家的年度会议周期的关键组成部分。(戈登神经行为学研究会议在奇数年召开；国际神经行为学学会在偶数年召开大会。)这一应用的健康相关之处在于，讨论将确定有效神经假体设计者面临的挑战。研究生研究研讨会的题目是“研究生研究研讨会：比较还是灭亡！”在这次会议上，研究生和博士后研究人员将在开放、非正式的气氛中讨论神经行为学的未来，这将使年轻科学家做好准备，从随后的完整戈登研究会议中获得最大利益。 与公共卫生相关：戈登神经行为学会议：行为、进化和神经生物学将于2011年8月14日至19日在美国马萨诸塞州斯通希尔学院举行。这次会议为来自世界各地的研究人员提供了一个难得的机会来讨论与神经电路的发展、功能和进化相关的新兴概念。会议前将举行研究生研究研讨会，以提升研究生和博士后研究人员的培训经验。明确研究神经回路的进化和比较方面将为设计有效的神经假体提供新的见解。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal requests partial support for an international meeting on Neuroethology as part of the Gordon Research Conference series. The meeting will be held at Stonehill College, Massachusetts, USA, August 14-19, 2011, and will be preceded by a Graduate Research Seminar August (13-14). The long-term goal of this ongoing conference is to increase our understanding of the development, function, and evolution of neural circuits. The 2011 meeting features several sessions that investigate how animals live in their species-specific sensory worlds. The key question: Can we use our understanding of sensory systems to link neuroscience and ecology ("neuro-ecology")? The specific aim of this meeting is to convene 22 expert speakers and 18 discussion leaders representing the forefront of neuroethology with a total of 135-150 participants for a 5 day conference in an academic setting selected to foster interaction. The intention will be to provoke day-long discussion across the sub-disciplines of neuroethology. The main program will feature two opening (keynote) speakers and eight scientific sessions. The two keynote talks will be linked by the topic of epigenetics, forcing neuroethologists to consider how the individual life histories of their subjects must be integrated into neural circuit analysis. Three sessions will focus on the sensory world: one on transduction, one on sensory integration, and one on the neural processing underlying natural tasks. A related session will use touch as sensed by insects and mammals to address the topic of how neuroethological investigations can contribute to bioengineering. One session will address issues related to brain size and behavior. Two additional sessions focus on the cost of information processing and the possible use of measures of the expression of immediate early genes as neuroethological tools. Daily poster sessions will permit all participants to contribute to the conference, and the organizers will encourage poster submissions related to the formal sessions. The significance of this application is that the Gordon Research Conference on Neuroethology is a critical component of the annual cycle of conferences that unite the international community of neuroethologists. (The Gordon Research Conference on Neuroethology convenes in odd-numbered years; the International Society of Neuroethology convenes its congress in even-numbered years.) The health relatedness of this application is that the discussions will define the challenges that face the designers of effective neural prostheses. The Graduate Research Seminar is titled "Graduate Research Seminar: Compare or Perish!" At this meeting, graduate students and postdoctoral researchers will meet to discuss the future of neuroethology in an open, informal atmosphere that will prepare young scientists to derive maximum benefit from the full Gordon Research Conference that follows. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The Gordon Conference on Neuroethology: Behavior, Evolution, and Neurobiology will be held August 14-19, 2011, at Stonehill College in Massachusetts, USA. This meeting provides an exceptional opportunity for researchers from around the world to discuss emerging concepts related to the development, function, and evolution of neural circuits. There will be a pre- meeting Graduate Research Seminar to enhance the training experience for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. Explicitly examining the evolutionary and comparative aspects of neural circuits will provide new insights into the design of effective neural prostheses.