The Reward Circuit: Emerging, Reemerging, and Forgotten Brain Areas

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In May 2010 there will be a meeting consisting of a series of workshops focusing on "The Reward circuit: emerging, re-emerging, and forgotten areas". Shell Island Oceanfront Suites in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. The Principal Investigator is Dr. Suzanne N. Haber, University of Rochester, and the co- organizers are: Drs. Christelle Baunez, Anthony Grace, Jacqueline McGinty, Celeste Napier, Patricio O'Donnell, Linda Porrino, Philip Winn and Scott Zahm. To stimulate active, informal discussion, the meeting consists of a series of workshops and will be relatively small. In preparation for the meeting, we have chosen four workshop topics. Four focus groups have been created to develop the questions and issues for discussion in the workshops. The focus groups are comprised of a cross section of 7-14 scientists to include clinical and basic scientists, and a mixture of junior and senior scientists. These groups will also prepare an introductory summary that begins each workshop on a specific topic. Following each workshop there will be summary session for all of the participants. The workshops will be an open forum, led by a facilitator, with a written summary by a scribe. Workshops will be devoted to active participation from all attendees, addressing new questions and directions that cut across the specific areas of expertise. This unique format, which has been very successful at our previous meetings, encourages free exchange of ideas. A specific emphasis is on recruiting young scientists to the field. Therefore each workshop will engage at least one young scientist in a leadership role (scribe or presenter). Furthermore, there will be a special workshop for junior scientists devoted to questions and issues related to career development. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The reward circuit is central to pathologies involving motivational disorders, including addiction. Certain key structures, such as the prefrontal cortex, striatum and midbrain dopamine cells within this circuitry are the most associated with psychiatric diseases. However, to improve our understanding of these pathologies, it is essential to also focus on other structures within this system, not as commonly studied. The topic of this meeting, "The Reward circuit: emerging, re-emerging, and forgotten areas", is particularly timely as it brings together new, and exciting information on a variety of brain regions that are connected to the cortico-striatal reward system. Understanding these critical links provides potential opportunities for new therapeutic interventions for different psychiatric disorders including addiction OCD, depression and schizophrenia.