2015 Cerebellum GRC

Gordon Research Conferences, East Greenwich RI

Investigators

Abstract

? DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The proposal seeks partial support for the third biennial Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on the Cerebellum, to be held at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, USA, August 9-14, 2015. Powerful new approaches for studying nervous system function at the circuit and systems level have recently been developed and these hold promise for achieving a deep, mechanistic understanding of brain functions. Nowhere is this promise more apparent than for the cerebellum. Although the most obvious symptoms of cerebellar damage are motor, cerebellar function is about much more than generating movements. This can be seen in the way cerebellar dysfunction is associated both with motor disorders (including ataxias, dystonia, and dyskinesia) and with cognitive impairments as well. The cerebellum is implicated in the etiologies of disorders such dyslexia, language production issues and autism spectrum disorder. Cerebellar research has also broken new ground by providing general insights in such areas as brain development, cellular and molecular mechanisms of plasticity, relating synaptic plasticity to learning, computation and computational approaches to brain function. Perhaps the most important influence of cerebellar research on the rest of neuroscience has been illustrating the value of identifying wiring diagrams and focusing interest on input to output transformations. In these ways, keeping up to date on cerebellar research is valuable for both cerebellar researchers and for those with more general interests in the approaches listed above. Despite this, there have been few opportunities for those interested in the cerebellum to meet, discuss their work, to be informed by developments in new methods and by new data on cerebellar pathologies, and to consider implications for broader questions in neuroscience. The aims of the Cerebellum GRC are to provide a venue to accomplish these goals by bringing together scientists from multiple career stages and different backgrounds, to provide them an opportunity to interact closely and to develop scientific relationships that will lead to collaborative work and new approaches to investigating the cerebellum in health and disease. These aims will be achieved by a keynote address on opening night followed by eight sessions of oral presentations over four days presented by leaders in the field and by up-and-coming junior investigators. The organization of the meeting will provide ample discussion time with active facilitation of participation by young scientists an trainees, poster presentations for maximal exposure of all attendees' research, and unstructured time between scientific sessions for in-depth discussions. Inclusion of such sessions as disorders of the cerebellum, human cerebellar function, computational approaches to cerebellar processing and mechanisms of cerebellar development will not only generate healthy exchange of ideas but will also educate investigators about how their work pertains to and can best be brought to bear on the treatment of neurological and mental disorders.