2010 Neurobiology of Cognition Gordon Research Conference

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal requests partial support for a new Gordon Research Conference on Neurobiology of Cognition, to be held in Waterville, NH. The meeting series is planned to take place biennially; this proposal requests funds for partial support of the first meeting in 2010. The impetus for this meeting is the recent developments in Neuroscience that have begun to uncover the brain circuit basis of higher cognitive functions at the level of systems analysis, computational principles, and neurophysiological mechanisms. The broad and long-term goal of the conference is to provide an informal forum with the highest quality for investigators from three fields (behavioral and circuit neurophysiology, cognitive neuroscience, and computational/theoretical neurobiology) to exchange ideas and data, and to foster collaboration and communication. The specific aims of this meeting will be to convene about 40 speakers and discussion leaders with a total of up to 200 participants for a four day/five night conference in a relatively isolated setting, with a format specially designed to foster informal discussions. The tentative program has eight sessions that address current issues on the brain mechanisms of working memory, decision making, selective attention, task rule and task switching, memory networks, large-scale brain circuit dynamics, the neural basis of fMRI signals, and circuit basis of cognitive deficits associated with mental illness. In addition, short talks and two poster sessions will permit all participants to contribute to these topics. The significance of this application is that our new and highly cross-disciplinary field urgently needs such a meeting, which will define and propel research in this important area of modern science. This meeting is highly relevant to healthcare, as progress in our understanding of the brain mechanisms of cognitive functions will directly affect our ability to treat cognitive deficits associated with mental disorders such as schizophrenia and ADHD. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This proposal is highly relevant to healthcare, as progress in our understanding of the brain mechanisms of cognitive functions will directly translate into novel and better treatments of cognitive deficits associated with mental disorders such as dysfunctions of working memory and decision making in schizophrenia, attention abnormalities in ADHD, and impairments of social cognition with autism.