2014 Alcohol & the Nervous System Gordon Research Conference

描述（由申请人提供）：本次会议的目标是促进对研究发展的公开讨论，建立新的科学合作，并推动下一代酒精神经科学研究的科学进步。为实现这一目标，我们计划在本次会议上实现以下四个具体目标：1)。提供一个国际论坛，促进对酒精对神经系统和相关神经科学领域的影响的前沿研究的公开讨论。2)引入突破性的神经科学技术，促进对导致饮酒和滥用酒精的大脑机制的理解。3)促进青年和高级研究人员之间的互动和思想交流，形成酒精神经科学界的未来方向。4)通过鼓励学生和博士后参与酒精和相关研究领域，促进下一代酒精研究人员的发展。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of this conference is to foster open discussion of research developments, build new scientific collaborations, and propel the next generation of scientific advances in alcohol neuroscience research. To reach this goal, we plan to accomplish the following four specific aims at the meeting: 1). To provide an international forum that promotes open discussion of cutting edge research at the forefront of alcohol effects on the nervous system and related neuroscience areas. 2) To introduce breakthrough neuroscientific techniques that facilitate the understanding of brain mechanisms driving alcohol drinking and abuse. 3) To promote interaction between young and senior investigators and exchange of ideas that shape the future directions of the alcohol neuroscience community. 4) To foster development of the next generation of alcohol researchers by encouraging the participation of students and postdoctoral fellows both in alcohol and in related research fields. The "Alcohol and the Nervous System" GRC will focus on presentation and discussion at the frontiers of alcohol research, including studies of acute, chronic and developmental alcohol exposure on neural function and the behavioral consequences of these actions. The scope of the research presented will be restricted to basic and clinical studies involving alcohol and the nervous system and will focus on questions that are important for addressing alcohol actions that contribute to excessive drinking and alcohol addiction. The meeting will also break down barriers to progress by uniting investigators with synergistic and complementary expertise in areas ranging from molecular actions of alcohol, neurocircuits, to translational research. The conference will provide a forum to discuss the latest developments in neuroscientific research on alcohol in an open and highly interactive GRC format, which includes formal talks interspersed with ample discussion time, poster sessions, and informal discussion periods that foster communication, planning and collaboration. This unique conference setup differs from that of other meetings in the field, and will provide a unique opportunity for enhanced communication between investigators at all stages of their careers, as well as between alcohol researchers and invited prominent investigators from outside the alcohol research field. To foster the growth of the next generation of alcohol researchers, we will put concerted efforts to support and encourage participation of students, postdoctoral fellows and young investigators. Thus, the present R13 will foster communication of frontier alcohol research, opportunities for cutting edge scientific collaboration, and entry of new and younger investigators into the alcohol research field. We envision the GRC on "Alcohol and the Nervous System" will significantly advance current understanding of neurobiology of alcohol addiction and stimulate development of effective therapeutic approaches for the treatment of alcohol use disorders.