Neural mechanisms of orientation and navigation Symposium, January 5, 2002 combined with The Society of Integrative & Comparative Biology, January 2-5, 2002, Anaheim, CA

Society For Integrative And Comparative Biology, Herndon VA

Investigators

Abstract

Lay Abstract Murray This one-day symposium has the goals of bringing together investigators working on diverse taxa, and moving the field toward a unified framework of the neural mechanisms underlying navigational behaviors. Previous conferences on the subject of orientation and navigation have not emphasized neural mechanisms, and a greater understanding of such neural mechanisms is now possible using multichannel recording, and newly-developed techniques for recording from freely-moving animals. Eleven speakers will each present a 30-minute talk on their work followed by 10 minutes of questions. All speakers will address common problems, models, and mechanisms shared among all investigators, with the goal of developing a unifying framework to understand the neural circuits utilized as animals find their way over both short and long distances. The objectives of this symposium are as follows: To exchange ideas about state-of-the-art neuronal, computational, and behavioral approaches to the analysis of oriented locomotion; To seek common neural mechanisms of orientation and navigation used by multiple phyla and in diverse sensory contexts; And to set short-term and long-term goals common to those working on the mechanisms of oriented locomotion toward establishing a general theory of the neuronal mechanisms of oriented locomotion. These general mechanisms will inform technologies now developing in the form of mobile robots. This symposium will provide an opportunity for a rich cross-fertilization of ideas among researchers studying animal behavior and those studying neurobiology.