Conference: International Meeting of the Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology, August 5-9 in Madrid, Spain

Lehigh University, Bethlehem PA

Investigators

Abstract

This grant will be used to pay student travel expenses to the annual conference of the Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology (SBN) in August 2000. The SBN fosters research and education concerning how hormones act on the brain and body to influence behavior. SBN is unique in its attention to student members. For example, last year's annual SBN meeting drew136 student attendees, 85 competitors in the student poster competition, and 42 competitors for the student travel awards. Students typically have limited financial resources, and thus, we set membership dues at $10, and consistently provide affordable accommodations. This year's annual meeting in Madrid, Spain will offer special opportunities to travel abroad and to interact with a diverse group of distinguished scientists. The momentum we generated in student participation might have been dampened by the prohibitive cost of transatlantic travel, had we not received this travel grant. Research presented at the SBN conference has impact on clinical treatments as well as on environmental awareness. For example, the hormonal changes of menopause and those associated with stressful experiences are associated with a loss of memory and learning ability. Members of SBN are studying the effects of the ovarian hormone, estrogen, and adrenal hormones on the specific brain cells that influence learning and memory. Other members of SBN are studying the effects of hormones secreted by plants such as soy. Ingested plant hormones impair fertility or even reverse the sex of animals, including people. These are just two of the many examples of hormonal effects on behavior that SBN members seek to understand. While most of science reduces these phenomena to the cellular and molecular level, SBN members seeks to integrate cellular and molecular concepts into a functional framework that is relevant for the whole animal in its environment.