2015 Modulation of Neural Circuits & Behavior Gordon Research Conference

 描述(由申请人提供)：摘要本提案请求R13支持戈登研究会议(GRC)关于神经回路和行为调制的成立会议。神经回路控制行为，但这些回路令人惊讶地是可塑性的。因此，神经调节器可以改变电路的增益，甚至改变它们的功能偏置电路，以在不同的模式下工作。来自不同领域的科学家--生物学、系统工程、遗传学、行为学、神经学和精神病学--越来越多地认识到神经调节对于行为控制的核心重要性，以及与翻译神经科学研究的令人兴奋的联系。因此，首届GRC会议是及时和独特的，因为它强调吸引多学科的参与者小组。这次会议将对迅速发展的神经调节领域产生中心的激励作用，使人们重新关注多巴胺、5-羟色胺以及在调节情绪和认知状态方面具有重要作用的各种多肽和生长因子的作用机制。神经调节通路的缺陷越来越多地与多种精神障碍有关，包括抑郁、成瘾和ADHD。因此，从机制上理解调制电路的功能组织、调制信号的动力学、各种调节器的行为效应以及调节器在神经元动态平衡中的作用，对于从根本上理解大脑功能是至关重要的。我们的会议也是独一无二的，因为它将有助于将来自传统上不同领域的科学家聚集在一起，探索丰富多样的生态意义上的重要行为。因此，这次会议将为致力于调节脊椎动物和无脊椎动物模型系统中的神经回路和行为的科学家之间的新的协同提供机会。这次会议特别及时，因为神经调节领域基于检测电路功能的遗传和光遗传学策略的最新进展，对于变革性的新方法已经成熟。最近在我们对神经调节的理解上的许多进展来自澳大利亚、中国、日本、韩国和其他亚洲国家的科学家。我们的会议将在美国和香港之间交替举行，这是一个理想的地点，将最大限度地发挥会议在促进美国科学家与欧洲和亚洲科学家之间密集交流思想和技术方面的有效性。因此，这一GRC将成为美国神经调节新兴研究的推动力。我们预计，2015年神经回路和行为调制GRC将塑造未来的科学方向，并为NIH的使命提供关键支持，特别是NINDS及其姊妹研究所，包括NIMH、NIDA和NIA。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Summary This proposal requests R13 support for the founding meeting of the Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Modulation of Neural Circuits and Behavior. Neural circuits control behavior, but these circuits are surprisingly plastic. Thus, neuromodulators can change the gain of circuits and even their function - biasing circuits to act in different modes. Scientists from diverse fields - biology, systems engineering, genetics, ethology, neurology and psychiatry - have increasingly recognized the central importance of neuromodulation for the control of behavior and the exciting links to translational neuroscience research. This inaugural GRC Conference is thus timely and unique because of its emphasis on attracting a multidisciplinary group of participants. The Conference will have a central galvanizing impact on the rapidly developing field of neuromodulation by bringing a new focus to the mechanism of action of dopamine, serotonin and various peptides and growth factors that have essential roles in regulating emotional and cognitive states. Defects in neuromodulatory pathways are increasingly implicated in multiple mental disorders, including depression, addiction and ADHD. Thus, a mechanistic understanding of the functional organization of modulatory circuits, the dynamics of modulatory signaling, the behavioral effects of various modulators, and the role of modulators in neuronal homeostasis, is essential for a fundamental understanding of brain function. Our conference is also unique because it will help bring together scientists from traditionally separate fields that explore the rich diversity of ecologicaly significant behaviors. Thus, the Conference will provide an opportunity for new synergisms between scientists working on modulation of neural circuits and behavior in vertebrate and invertebrate model systems. The meeting is particularly timely because the field of neuromodulation is ripe for transformative new approaches based on recent advances in genetic and optogenetic strategies for examining circuit function. Many of the recent advances in our understanding of neuromodulation have come from scientists in Australia, China, Japan, Korea and other Asian countries. Our conference will alternate between the United States and Hong Kong - ideal locations that will maximize the effectiveness of the Conference in promoting intensive exchange of ideas and techniques between American scientists and those from Europe and Asia. Thus, this GRC will be a driving force for emerging studies of neuromodulation in the United States. We expect that the 2015 GRC on Modulation of Neural Circuits and Behavior will shape future scientific directions and provide critical support for the mission of NIH, particularly NINDS and its sister institutes including NIMH, NIDA and NIA.