AREADNE 2010 Conference

Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston MA

Investigators

Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The AREADNE 2010 Conference on Research on Encoding and Decoding of Neural Ensembles is the third in a series of meetings about interactions amongst multiple neurons from a systems perspective. The field of neural ensembles is fundamental to the pursuit of theoretical, experimental, and applied systems neuroscience, as it embodies the core issues that have been revealed through the ability to monitor the signals from multiple neurons simultaneously. This is a relatively new field that has been enabled by recent advances in recording technology, from multiple simultaneous extracellular recordings, to high-resolution fMRI, to single- and multi-photon imaging techniques. The primary goal of the AREADNE Conference Series is to provide a focal point for interactions between US, European, and Eastern Mediterranean researchers whose work involves understanding how networks of neurons encode information and the tools we might use to decode ongoing activity. Every organizational aspect of this meeting has been carefully selected to achieve this goal by fostering discussion and exchange in an informal setting that provides a fertile environment for the development of professional relationships. As a result, after only two instances it has become one of the preeminent conferences in the field. The agenda for the 2010 meeting will be to discuss advances in olfaction, hippocampus and dentate gyrus, stimulation techniques, two-photon techniques that measure neural function, connectomics, visual systems, and motor systems. By drawing from disparate fields, we create a hybridizing environment where rather than being exceptional, cross-disciplinary discussions are the norm. Scientific presentations at AREADNE Conferences span four days with 22 oral presentations split between two daily sessions, and poster sessions on the first three days with about 20 posters per day. Speakers are invited from the list of world experts in neural ensembles from a wide range of fields. Posters are contributed from a similarly broad cut across Neuroscience with relevance to the focus of understanding neural ensembles from any part of the central or peripheral system. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: It is important to understand how the neurons that make up the brain encode information, and how to decode the signals neurons use to communicate. This conference brings together experts and students from across the world who are using new and powerful tools to explore neural encoding and decoding. Topics of discussion include basic experimental and theoretical knowledge as well as applications like visual prostheses for the blind, motor prostheses for the paralyzed, and similar devices that provide restoration of function following neural disease.