2023 Neuroethology: Behavior, Evolution and Neurobiology Gordon Research Conference and Seminar

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Project Summary: This proposal requests funds to support the 10th Gordon Research Conference (GRC) in Neuroethology, to be held August 6 - August 11, 2023 at Mount Snow, West Dover Vermont, USA. Funds received from the NIH will be used solely to defray the travel and registration costs incurred by students, postdocs, and other invited speakers, with preference being given to early career scientists, women, and members of under-represented groups in STEM. The GRC will be preceded by a two day Graduate Research Seminar (GRS) organized by a graduate student and postdoctoral fellow along with invited mentors that are leaders in the field. The GRS offers graduate students and postdocs an opportunity to present their current research and to build a sense of community within their field prior to attending the GRC. Together, the GRC and GRS provide unique opportunities for networking and collaboration. Central to the BRAIN initiative is a growing appreciation that the neural circuit dynamics that underlie complex behaviors vary strikingly based on context, and hence studies of natural behaviors in diverse animals are critical for a meaningful understanding of the neural basis of behavior. Recent cutting-edge methodologies and computational approaches in neuroethology are revealing how features of individual neurons (e.g. biochemistry, connectivity) impact circuit function, and how recent history, homeostatic mechanisms, and energetics shape neural circuit output and hence behavioral performance. The 2023 GRC program encompasses a multidisciplinary approach to neural circuit computations. The speakers are applying new technologies in diverse animals to link genes, biochemistry, anatomy, and physiology of cells to emergent circuit properties. Animals experience varying and unpredictable sensory environments and themselves have variable experiences and internal states – all of which impact neuron and circuit properties. Neural circuits have evolved homeostatic mechanisms to buffer variability as well as diverse forms of plasticity to tune themselves to meet the ongoing needs of the animals. The resulting circuit configurations influence neural coding and the abilities of animals to perform adaptive behaviors in complex, real world environments.