2011 Inhibition in the CNS Gordon Research Conference

描述(由申请人提供)：该提案请求部分支持将于2011年7月24-29日在美国缅因州沃特维尔举行的戈登研究会议系列的一部分--关于中枢神经系统抑制的国际会议。会议的广泛和长期目标是增加我们对抑制性突触传递的基本机制、中间神经元在调节兴奋性和网络活动中的作用的了解。重点放在神经元间多样性和神经元干细胞如何分化为神经元间，以及包括阿片剂和酒精在内的滥用药物影响中枢神经系统抑制的机制。这次会议的具体目标是召集40位代表抑制研究关键领域的演讲者，总共约150人，在相对孤立的环境中举行为期五天的会议。该计划将有一个主旨演讲和八个会议，广泛地讨论当前中间神经元生物学的问题。会议通常致力于大脑中含有抑制性递质GABA的特殊神经元亚群的解剖学和生理学，抑制性突触的功能和调节，这些特定的中间神经元在调节和同步神经元网络活动中所起的作用，以及由抑制性神经递质GABA和甘氨酸控制的受体的细胞生物学，以及致力于从干细胞发育成中间神经元的会议。演讲者将是多样化的，有多个国家的代表，年轻的调查人员和女性代表也很多。此外，两个晚上的海报会议将允许所有参与者互动并为这些主题做出贡献。这项申请的意义在于，戈登关于中枢神经系统抑制研究的会议是推动国际抑制研究人员研究的年度系列会议的关键组成部分。这项申请与健康有关的是，本次会议的讨论将确定需要在影响人类发展、药物滥用责任和认知功能的领域进行实验解决的问题。 与公共卫生相关：戈登关于中枢神经系统抑制的会议是在缅因州科尔比学院校园举行的一次科学会议。来自世界各地的150名参与者将聚集在一起，参加为期五天的会议，他们睡在宿舍里，吃着大学宿舍的食物，同时在一个与世隔绝的环境中讨论他们的科学工作，以促进原本可能不会见面的专家之间的对话。将有大约40场讲座，并鼓励初级科学家参加并领导对所提出的工作的讨论。今年的会议将重点介绍脑科学的突破性领域，如通过计算机模拟对人类脑波活动进行建模，酒精和安眠药等药物对大脑的作用，以及干细胞在治疗人类大脑疾病方面的应用。许多新的和有趣的科学发展始于来自世界不同地区的科学家之间的非正式对话，他们有独特的机会在这些小型会议上讨论他们的实验，在一个安全和受保护的环境中允许想象力和创造性思维，远离他们的大学教学和筹款责任。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal requests partial support for an international meeting on Inhibition in the CNS as part of the Gordon Research Conference series to be held in Waterville, Maine, U.S.A. July 24-29, 2011. The broad and long-term goal of the Conference is to increase our understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of inhibitory synaptic transmission, the role of interneurons in regulating excitability and network activity. A significant emphasis is placed on interneuron diversity and how neuronal stem cells differentiate into interneurons, as well as the mechanisms by which drugs of abuse, including opiates and alcohol, influence inhibition in the CNS. The specific aims of this meeting will be to convene 40 speakers that represent critical areas of inhibition research with a total of ~150 participants for a five day conference in a relatively isolated setting. The program will have a keynote address and eight sessions that broadly address current issues in the biology of interneurons. Sessions are typically devoted to the anatomy and physiology of a special subset of neurons in the brain containing the inhibitory transmitter GABA, the function and regulation of inhibitory synapses, and the role these specific interneurons play in regulating and synchronizing the activity of neuronal networks, as well as the cell biology of the receptors gated by the inhibitory neurotransmitters GABA and glycine, and a session devoted to the development of interneurons from stem cells. Speakers will be diverse, with multiple nations featured, and younger investigators and women well represented. In addition, two evening poster sessions will permit all of the participants to interact and contribute to these topics. The significance of this application is that the Gordon Research conference on Inhibition in the CNS is a critical component of the yearly series of conferences that propel research in the international community of inhibition researchers. The health relatedness of this application is that the discussions at this meeting will define the questions that require experimental resolution in areas that affect human development, drug abuse liability and cognitive function. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The Gordon Conference on Inhibition in the CNS is a scientific meeting that is held on the campus of Colby College in Maine. 150 participants from around the world will gather for a five-day meeting, sleeping in dormitories and eating college dorm food, while spending time discussing their scientific work in an isolated setting that promotes conversations among experts who might not otherwise meet. About 40 lectures will be given, and junior scientists are encouraged to attend and to lead the discussion of the work presented. This year's meeting will highlight ground-breaking areas of brain science such as the modeling of human brain wave activity by computer simulations, the actions of drugs such as alcohol and sleeping pills on the brain, and the applications of stem cells for the treatment of human brain disorders. Many new and interesting scientific developments begin as informal conversations between scientists from different parts of the world, who have the unique opportunity at these small meetings to discuss their experiments together in a secure and protected environment that allows for imaginative and creative thought, far away from their university teaching and fund- raising responsibilities.