Conference: Barrels Meeting XIX, to be held in Atlanta, GA, October 12 - 13, 2006.

Cuny Queens College, Flushing NY

Investigators

Abstract

This award provides support for the "Barrels Meeting", a yearly meeting which focuses on the anatomy, physiology and behavior of the rodent whisker-to-barrel system. The meeting serves as a catalyst for interactions between researchers in different laboratories and different scientific fields. This year, Morehouse College, an HCBI institution, will act as host for the meeting, and Spellman and Clark Colleges, also HBCI institutions, will also participate in the meeting. Students and researchers from underrepresented groups will be encouraged to participate by enabling them to attend the meeting for free of charge The whisker-to-barrel pathway has become one of the most utilized model systems in Neuroscience. Neurons in the rodent primary somatosensory cortex are arranged in "barrelshaped" groups, the study of which provides a direct link between physiological measurements and underlying neuronal structure. Recent studies of physiological recordings from awake behaving animals has greatly increased the utility of this type of preparation, and questions in developmental neurobiology and plasticity are being answered by studying the precise development of the barrels and their subcortical counterparts with modern cell-biological and genetic techniques. The meeting will be arranged around the following themes: Activity patterns during Whisking Behavior, Cross-species Comparisons, and Cortical Circuits. For each theme there will be two or three invited presentations (30 min) delivered by established researchers, followed by 4-6 shorter (15 min) talks by more junior researchers and graduate students. In addition there will a poster session (typically 50-60 posters are presented annually). The mix of long and short talks and poster presentations will provide ample opportunity for new researchers to present their findings to an international audience of scientific peers. The organizers also will invite individuals from outside the "Barrels community" to present their research in order to expose the community to new and exciting developments.