2018 Thalamocortical Interactions Gordon Research Conference

Gordon Research Conferences, East Greenwich RI

Investigators

Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY The Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on ?Thalamocortical Interactions: Development, Function & Dysfunction of Thalamocortical Networks? will involve roughly 150 scientists of diverse expertise assembled to discuss and debate new findings related to the functioning of thalamus and cortex and their interactions. The conference will take place at the Renaissance Tuscany Il Ciocco, Lucca (Barga), Italy, during February 18-23, 2018. The meeting will include a series of 20 minute talks followed by 10 minute discussion periods plus time each day for less formal interactions at poster sessions. This GRC will offer a unique combination of features, including: breadth of research; cutting-edge emphasis; mingling of investigators from all ranks and diverse sub- fields and locales; and intimate size and extended discussion time, allowing for close and sustained interactions. The program of this GRC emphasizes development, function and dysfunction of thalamocortical interactions, and builds on these to explore their roles in cognition and neuronal disease states. This GRC represents a rare opportunity for neuroscientists interested in thalamocortical interactions to exchange new results, hypotheses, and ideas at many levels, from cellular through systems to cognitive and clinical. This is especially timely, because this field has been expanding significantly with the recent appreciation that thalamus plays an ongoing and critical role in cortical functioning, and newly described deficits in such disorders as schizophrenia, epilepsy, and autism appear to have at least partly a thalamocortical locus. We thus fully anticipate this GRC to significantly advance the field and potentially offer new insights into certain clinical conditions.