Featured Panel Sessions
Dual Perspectives 
Does Adult Neurogenesis Occur in the Human Brain?
Presenters: Arturo Alvarez-Buylla, PhD; Maria Llorens-Martin, PhD
Date & Time: Monday, October 21, 2019, 1–2 p.m.
Location: McCormick Place: Room S406B
Whether neurogenesis continues in the adult human brain has been contested for decades. Adult neurogenesis is a fascinating phenomenon involving the birth, migration and functional integration of a new neuron into established neural networks. In this Dual Perspectives session, Dr. Llorens-Martín will present recent evidence supporting and Dr. Alvarez-Buylla will present recent evidence questioning the presence of new neurons in the adult human hippocampus.
2019 Storytelling Session
The Storytelling Brain: How Neuroscience Stories Help Bridge the Gap Between Research and Society
Chair: Susana Martinez-Conde, PhD, State University of New York Downstate Medical Center
Date & Time: Sunday, October 20, 2019, 1:30-4 p.m.
Location: S406B
This storytelling session brings together neuroscientific discovery, science reporting, and personal storytelling in a synergetic and memorable way. Broad-appeal lectures will interweave with personal stories to showcase the effective ways in which neuroscience researchers and journalists can collaborate, how storytelling provides a common ground between science and art, and the power of narrative to hold captive our storytelling brains.
2019 Basic-Translational-Clinical Roundtables
Mechanisms of Drug Addiction: A Translational Perspective
Organizer: Trevor W. Robbins, PhD, University of Cambridge
Date & Time: Monday, October 21, 2019, 8:30-11 a.m.
Location: N230B
CME: 2.5 Credits
This roundtable will focus on translatability of basic research in animals to human research in addiction in order not only to understand neurobehavioral mechanisms of addiction, but also to define new strategies for discovery of clinical treatments, especially regarding the current opioid crisis. Topics to be discussed include the neural systems underlying addiction, neuronal adaptations occurring within those systems, how different drugs of abuse produce addiction, and the role of aberrant learning and vulnerabilities in the drive to addiction.
Exoskeletons and Robotics for Neurorehabilitation
Organizer: Ann M. Spungen, EdD, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Date & Time: Tuesday, October 22, 2019, 8:30-11 a.m.
Location: N230B
CME: 2.5 Credits
This session will include a state-of-the-art overview of the use of robotics and exoskeletons in populations with neurological impairments. Specific presentations will include upper body robotic interventions for functional and neurological gains, robotic interventions for children with neurological impairments, and lower extremity exoskeletons for over ground ambulation. The lower extremity exoskeletal-assisted walking data will be presented from a randomized, controlled clinical trial.
Gene Therapy in Neurological Diseases
Organizer: Asa Abeliovich, MD, PhD, Prevail Therapeutics
Date & Time: Wednesday, October 23, 2019, 8:30-11 a.m.
Location: N230B
CME: 2.5 Credits
Gene therapy has advanced rapidly in the past five years, with technological advances and encouraging early clinical studies. This roundtable will focus on the opportunities and challenges as the field progresses, with a focus on the development of disease-modifying therapies that address urgent unmet needs of patients with neurological disorders. Discussion topics will include: technologies that are driving the field, with a focus on AAV platforms; leveraging advances in neurogenetics to identify validated therapeutic targets and patient subpopulations; rare monogenic disorders and clinical therapeutic strategies; the pursuit of gene therapy approaches for genetically complex disorders; and CNS region- and cell-selective approaches.
