Wiring the Brain 2011: Making Connections

Stanford University, Stanford CA

Investigators

Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The principal aim of this meeting is to bring together scientists from what have traditionally been separate disciplines, including developmental neurobiology, psychiatric and neurological genetics, molecular, cellular and systems neuroscience and cognitive science. The main theme is to explore how brain connectivity is established, what happens to circuit and network function when the underlying processes are disturbed and how this can lead to psychiatric and neurological disease. The setting up of such a meeting was driven, on the one hand, by the dramatic convergence of psychiatric genetics on genes involved in neurodevelopment and, on the other hand, by the gulf that remains between these two fields. The ongoing revolution in sequencing technology will yield unprecedented amounts of genetic data, including the identification of mutations in probably large numbers of genes involved in the etiology of psychiatric or neurological disease. Translating those data into clinically useful information will require the types of integrated, multidisciplinary approaches described above. Only a deep and integrative understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms across multiple levels will provide the insights to predict individual risk and prognosis, delineate treatment and suggest the rational design of new therapeutics. Conversely, investigating the exceptions (identified genetically) provides a powerful route to understanding normal development and function of the brain, as has been the case for so many other areas of biology. We aim not just to promote cross-talk and collaborations between established researchers in distinct fields but to inspire a new generation of researchers to transcend those traditional boundaries in their future careers. To truly understand how mutations in genes controlling neurodevelopmental processes such as cell migration, axon guidance and synaptogenesis can result in the complicated spectrum of symptoms that characterize disorders such as schizophrenia or autism will require an integration of knowledge across a very wide range of levels. We will need to understand how neural circuitry is established, how it varies on the cellular level due to mutations in key genes, how the cellular connectivity translates into network function or dysfunction and how this results in psychiatric symptoms in various domains, taking lifelong developmental trajectories into account. Currently, these different levels of analysis are addressed independently and typically from quite different angles depending on the associated disciplinary tradition (e.g., developmental biology, physiology, psychology). Making links across these boundaries requires extra effort and is typically not achieved by specialist conferences. We hope this conference will stimulate interdisciplinary collaborations by highlighting common interests and the increasing possibilities for synergistic research. The theme of "Making Connections" thus applies in a scientific as well as a biological sense. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The meeting "Wiring the Brain - Making Connections" will bring together researchers from developmental neurobiology, psychiatric genetics, molecular, cellular and systems neuroscience and cognitive science to explore how brain connectivity is established, what happens to circuit and network function when the underlying processes go wrong and how this can lead to psychiatric and neurological disease. Disclaimer: Please note that the following critiques were prepared by the reviewers prior to the Study Section meeting and are provided in an essentially unedited form. While there is opportunity for the reviewers to update or revise their written evaluation, based upon the group's discussion, there is no guarantee that individual critiques have been updated subsequent to the discussion at the meeting. Therefore, the critiques may not fully reflect the final opinions of the individual reviewers at the close of group discussion or the final majority opinion of the group. Thus the Resume and Summary of Discussion is the final word on what the reviewers actually considered critical at the meeting.