Minisymposia
Minisymposia focus on advances or present conflicting views in rapidly developing areas of neuroscience. Speakers are typically junior investigators, and researchers at all career levels are encouraged to attend. Minisymposia will take place on October 5–9 in McCormick Place. Minisymposia taking place during Neuroscience 2024 are listed below.
View other scientific sessions being held this year.
From Dawn to Dusk: Impacts of Circadian and Sleep Disturbances on Mental health Across the Lifespan
Chair: Alessandra Porcu, Pharm.D., Ph.DInstitution: University of South Carolina
Co-Chair: Karen Gamble, PhD
Institution: University of Alabama at Birmingham
Theme: Theme D – Sensory Systems
This session will explore the profound impacts of circadian rhythms and sleep disturbances on mental health across the lifespan. Researchers will present research on how disruptions in sleep and biological clocks affect mood, cognition, and behavior in individuals from adolescence to older adulthood. Topics will include the neurobiological mechanisms underlying these disturbances, with a focus on mental health outcomes, clinical interventions, and future research directions
Advancing Brain Imaging Frontiers: Recent Breakthroughs in Functional Ultrasound Imaging Methods for Preclinical and Clinical Research - Zsolt Lenkei
Chair: Zsolt Lenkei, MD, PhDInstitution: INSERM
Co-Chair: Mickael Tanter, PhD
Institution: Inserm
Date & Time: Saturday, October 5, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: MCP Room S105
Theme: Theme I – Techniques
This minisymposium will explore an emerging frontier in brain imaging, functional ultrasound (fUS) imaging. Discover groundbreaking applications in preclinical neuroscience, neuropharmacology, neurosurgery, and beyond as experts delve into the real-time, high-resolution insights this cutting-edge technology provides. Uncover the potential for minimally invasive dynamic imaging, revolutionizing the understanding of complex physiological processes and diagnosis and treatment of CNS disorders.
Development of Higher-Level Vision - Kristina J. Nielsen
Chair: Kristina Nielsen, PhDInstitution: Johns Hopkins University
Co-Chair: Michael Arcaro, PhD
Institution: University of Pennsylvania
Date & Time: Saturday, October 5, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: MCP Room S406B
Theme: Theme D – Sensory Systems
Higher-level vision encompasses the complex functions that make vision one of our most powerful senses. Despite extensive research on these functions in adults, understanding of their development, especially at the neural level, is limited. This symposium will bring together researchers investigating the development of higher visual functions across various models to provide an update on our current understanding, highlight recent advances, and discuss future challenges.
Insights Into Sensorimotor Neural Circuit Dynamics via Electrical and Optogenetic Manipulation - Maria C. Dadarlat
Chair: Maria Dadarlat, PhDInstitution: Purdue University
Co-Chair: Yujiao Sun, PhD
Institution: University College London
Date & Time: Saturday, October 5, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: MCP Room S102
Theme: Theme E – Motor Systems
Recent advances in modulating neural activity through electrical and optogenetic stimulation offer new insights into the dynamic interplay between neural circuitry and behavior. This minisymposium will present cutting-edge research on sensory perception, motor control, and learning processes, emphasizing the impact of neural modulation on cognitive and therapeutic outcomes. It will address advances, challenges, and in neuroscience research.
The Effects of Food Consumption on the Circuitry of Reward and Decision-Making - Maxime Chevee
Chair: Maxime Chevee, PhDInstitution: Vanderbilt University
Co-Chair: Miriam Bocarsly, PhD
Institution: Rutgers NJMS
Date & Time: Saturday, October 5, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: MCP Room S100A
Theme: Theme G – Motivation and Emotion
Fluctuations in food consumption engage a wide array of advantageous plasticity mechanisms, including changes in the brain circuits of reward processing and decision-making. These changes can become maladaptive and contribute to disease states such as obesity. This minisymposium will present recent findings from research using both human and rodent models addressing how food metabolism and diet impact the diverse circuits, neurotransmitters, and receptors that control motivated behaviors.
The Noradrenergic System: New Insights From Circuit Regulation to Behavior Modulation - Thiago Arzua
Chair: Thiago Arzua, PhDInstitution: Columbia University
Co-Chair: Gina Poe, PhD
Institution: UCLA Chapter
Date & Time: Saturday, October 5, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: MCP Room S406A
Theme: Theme F – Integrative Physiology and Behavior
This minisymposium will focus on recent insights into behaviors guided and regulated by noradrenaline (NA). NA signaling, originating from the locus coeruleus (LC) and unexpected novel regions, has garnered attention due to its surprising complexity in organization and function. We will highlight these findings, from the role of the LC in plasticity and anxiety in animal models to the region’s role in human development and exciting new mechanisms that work independently of the LC altogether.
From Synapses to Ensembles: Studying the Synaptic Engram - F. Javier Rubio
Chair: F. Javier Rubio, PhDInstitution: NIDA IRP
Co-Chair: Leslie Ramsey, PhD
Institution: NIDA IRP
Date & Time: Sunday, October 6, 9:30 a.m.–noon
Location: MCP Room N427
Theme: Theme B – Neural Excitability, Synapses, and Glia
Memories are encoded by specific patterns of sparsely distributed neurons called ensembles that are selected by integrating specific patterns of activated excitatory synaptic input, called synaptic ensembles, carrying information from other brain regions. This minisymposium will highlight different approaches for studying molecular and cellular alterations in activated synapses, including synaptic ensembles, that can contribute to encoding specific memories.
From Womb to Words: Pre-linguistic Neurodevelopment of Language - Huw Swanborough
Chair: Huw SwanboroughInstitution: University of Zurich
Co-Chair: Alejandra Husser, PhD
Institution: University of Zurich
Date & Time: Sunday, October 6, 9:30 a.m.–noon
Location: MCP Room S406B
Theme: Theme A – Development
The development of the neural circuitry underpinning language begins long before linguistic speech production, starting prenatally and changing rapidly during infancy. Development in this period underpins infant-to-parent communication and is predictive of healthy or pathological language outcomes. This minisymposium focuses on early neurolinguistic maturation, with insight into recent breakthroughs and active research, underlining the relevance of language abilities for a child’s overall development.
Neural Encoding of Bodies for Primate Social Perception - Rufin Vogels
Chair: Rufin Vogels, PhDInstitution: KU Leuven
Co-Chair: Beatrice De Gelder, PhD
Institution: Maastricht University
Date & Time: Sunday, October 6, 9:30 a.m.–noon
Location: MCP Room S102
Theme: Theme D – Sensory Systems
Body shapes and movements convey essential information about the behavior and emotions of primates. The brain has developed specialized mechanisms for the visual processing of bodies and body movements, but essential underlying computational and neural processes remain largely unclear. The symposium presents steps toward developing an understanding of these processes in human and nonhuman primates, exploiting various methods (single-cell physiology, imaging, and computational modeling).
Glial Control of Critical Windows for Experience-Dependent Neuronal Plasticity - Wendy Xin
Chair: Wendy Xin, PhDInstitution: UCSF
Co-Chair: Travis Faust, PhD
Institution: University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School
Date & Time: Sunday, October 6, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: MCP Room S105
Theme: Theme B – Neural Excitability, Synapses, and Glia
The brain is an infinitely adaptable organ molded by experience throughout life. Although much of the focus has been on intrinsic neuronal mechanisms of plasticity, there is growing evidence that multiple glial populations control both the timing and extent of neuronal plasticity, particularly over the course of development. This minisymposium will highlight recent discoveries on glial regulation of experience-dependent neuronal plasticity during critical windows of neurodevelopment.
Sensory Neuroprostheses: Clinical Benefits, Tradeoffs, and Translation - Emily L. Graczyk
Chair: Emily Graczyk, PhDInstitution: Case Western Reserve University
Date & Time: Sunday, October 6, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: MCP Room S102
Theme: Theme D – Sensory Systems
Neuroprostheses to restore somatosensory function to people with disabilities, including spinal cord injury and amputation, are beginning to move out of the laboratory and into the clinic. Strategies for sensory restoration, including stimulation of the skin, nerves, and brain, may each benefit different populations. This minisymposium will bring together experts in sensory neuroprostheses to discuss the relative benefits, tradeoffs, and future of translation for cutting-edge stimulation technologies.
Sex Differences in Typically Overlooked Modulators of Memory: Towards Sex-Specific Therapies for Memory Dysfunction - Karyn M. Frick
Chair: Karyn Frick, PhDInstitution: Univ. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Date & Time: Sunday, October 6, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: MCP Room S406B
Theme: Theme H – Cognition
This minisymposium brings together innovative new research illustrating key sex differences in typically overlooked modulators of memory, including time of day, protein degradation, early life stress, and neuroimmune function. Speakers will provide novel insights that challenge male-centric assumptions about the cellular, molecular, and circuit mechanisms underlying learning and memory and highlight the importance of identifying the ways in which neuromodulatory factors regulate memory in both sexes.
Cerebellar Predictive Encoding in Health and Disease - Alice Doubliez
Chair: Alice DoubliezInstitution: Essen University Hospital, University of Duisburg-Essen
Co-Chair: Patricia Gil-Paterna
Institution: Uppsala University
Date & Time: Monday, October 7, 9:30 a.m.–noon
Location: MCP Room S406A
Theme: Theme F – Integrative Physiology and Behavior
This minisymposium focuses on exciting cross-species studies revealing that the predictive capacity of the cerebellum extends beyond motor control. Talks will cover recent neuroanatomical, circuit, computational, MRI, and clinical findings of how associative and supervised learning in the cerebellum participates in goal-directed behaviors driven by aversive and non-aversive cues in the healthy brain and in disease.
Large-Scale Mechanistic Models of Brain Circuits With Biophysically- and Morphologically-Detailed Neurons - Salvador Dura-Bernal
Chair: Salvador Dura-Bernal, PhDInstitution: SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
Co-Chair: Anton Arkhipov, PhD
Institution: Allen Institute
Date & Time: Monday, October 7, 9:30 a.m.–noon
Location: MCP Room S406B
Theme: Theme I – Techniques
Understanding the brain requires studying its multiscale interactions, from molecules to cells to circuits and networks. Although researchers are generating vast experimental datasets across scales and modalities, integrating and interpreting this data remains a daunting challenge. This minisymposium will highlight recent significant advances in large-scale mechanistic modeling of brain circuits and how it offers an unparalleled approach to integrate data and provide insights into brain function and disease.
Of Mice and Humans: Neuronal Diversity in the Hippocampus Across Species - Jayeeta Basu
Chair: Jayeeta Basu, PhDInstitution: NYU Neuroscience Institute
Co-Chair: Kenneth Pelkey, PhD
Institution: NIH
Date & Time: Monday, October 7, 9:30 a.m.–noon
Location: MCP Room S102
Theme: Theme B – Neural Excitability, Synapses, and Glia
Can scientists extrapolate information about neuronal cell types and circuit functions derived from animal models to humans? This symposium brings together scientists who are developing techniques and investigative models to study cell types and their functional properties across species. This minisymposium will feature talks about pioneering work spanning the first electrophysiological, circuit mapping, transcriptomic, and computational modeling data from cell types within the human hippocampus, the center for episodic memory.
Beyond Birth Control: The Neuroscience of Hormonal Contraceptives - Jesse Lacasse
Chair: Jesse LacasseInstitution: Brock University / Center for Addiction and Mental Health
Date & Time: Monday, October 7, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: MCP Room S102
Theme: Theme F – Integrative Physiology and Behavior
Hormonal contraceptives (HCs) are one of the most widely used classes of drugs, used by 300 million women worldwide. However, only recently have researchers begun to study the neurobiological and behavioral impacts of hormonal contraceptives have been studied. This symposium will focus on preclinical rodent studies and cutting-edge neuroscience to identify cellular and molecular mechanisms by which HCs influence neural processes, including cognition, motivation, metabolism, mood, stroke, and behavior.
Central and Peripheral Neurobiological Mechanisms of Neuropathic Pain in Multiple Sclerosis - Bradley K. Taylor
Chair: Bradley Taylor, PhDInstitution: University of Pittsburgh
Date & Time: Monday, October 7, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: MCP Room S406A
Theme: Theme D – Sensory Systems
Multiple sclerosis-associated neuropathic pain (MSNP) is quite prevalent and remains problematic even during the use of disease-modifying agents. This minisymposium will reveal new neurobiological mechanisms of MSNP, highlighting central mechanisms driven by spinal microglia and peripheral mechanisms in the dorsal root ganglion. Neurophysiological, molecular, and behavioral data in mice will promote new targets for treatment, including transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1) and TNF-a.
Control of Adaptive Behavior by Neuronal Circuits in the Central Nucleus of the Amygdala - Jonathan P. Fadok
Chair: Jonathan Fadok, PhDInstitution: Tulane University
Co-Chair: Melissa Herman, PhD
Institution: University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Date & Time: Monday, October 7, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: MCP Room S100BC
Theme: Theme G – Motivation and Emotion
The nervous system processes a vast array of complex stimuli to generate behavior necessary for survival. The central nucleus of the amygdala is a striatal brain region that integrates external and internal inputs to control a diverse array of adaptive behaviors. This minisymposium will cover recent progress in understanding how the central amygdala controls positive and negative valence behavior through local and distributed circuits.
Microglia and Peripheral Immunity in Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders - Oleg Butovsky
Chair: Oleg Butovsky, PhDInstitution: Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School
Co-Chair: Michael Heneka, MD
Institution: Université du Luxembourg
Date & Time: Monday, October 7, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: MCP Room S100A
Theme: Theme C – Neurodegenerative Disorders and Injury
One of the major outstanding questions in the Alzheimer’s disease (AD) field of research is the underlying mechanism by which genome-wide association studies (GWAS) associated risk factors contribute to genetic perturbation and malfunction of peripheral immune cells and their crosstalk with neural cells in disease progression. This minisymposium will delineate the molecular and cellular mechanisms of microglia and their interactions with peripheral immunity in AD and related disorders.
Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Motor Circuit Development - Paschalis Kratsios
Chair: Paschalis Kratsios, PhDInstitution: University of Chicago
Co-Chair: Polyxeni Philippidou, PhD
Institution: Case Western Reserve University
Date & Time: Monday, October 7, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: MCP Room S103
Theme: Theme A – Development
Motor circuits represent the main output of the central nervous system. This minisymposium will highlight recent breakthroughs in cellular and molecular mechanisms that enable motor circuits to develop and function. The speakers are experts in invertebrate and vertebrate motor circuits. The minisymposium will also highlight conserved and divergent mechanisms necessary for motor circuit development.
Speech Neuroprostheses - Sergey D. Stavisky
Chair: Sergey Stavisky, PhDInstitution: University of California, Davis
Co-Chair: Christian Herff, PhD
Institution: Maastricht University
Date & Time: Monday, October 7, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: MCP Room S406B
Theme: Theme E – Motor Systems
Speech neuroprostheses aim to allow patients with vocal tract paralysis to communicate without the need for any muscle movement. Various methods to record neural activity and decode multiple neural representations of speech and language can help to achieve this goal. This minisymposium will highlight recent advances in intracranial speech neuroprostheses that have led to fast and reliable speech output and facilitate discussion of what else is needed to advance from research to treatment.
Brainstem Development and Functioning: An Understudied Clue in the Understanding and Management of Autism and Related Disorders (ASD) - Eric B. London
Chair: Eric London, MDInstitution: Inst Bas Res
Date & Time: Tuesday, October 8, 9:30 a.m.–noon
Location: MCP Room S406B
Theme: Theme A – Development
The brainstem’s role in ASD remains understudied despite its obvious involvement in the circuitry which correlates with symptoms. Research is very challenging due to its location, anatomy, and the diversity of functions involved. Utilizing neuropathology, MRI, electrophysiology, genetics, and movement analysis, will present evidence of significant brainstem pathology involvement explaining clinical symptoms. This data can lead to the very early prediction of ASD or targets for treatment.
From Environment to Neural Dynamics: On the Interaction Between Rhythmic Sensation and Neural Oscillations - Benedikt Zoefel
Chair: Benedikt Zoefel, PhDInstitution: CNRS
Co-Chair: Siva Digavalli, PhD
Institution: East Tennessee State University
Date & Time: Tuesday, October 8, 9:30 a.m.–noon
Location: MCP Room S102
Theme: Theme H – Cognition
The human brain encounters rhythmic stimuli and displays rhythmic oscillations across regions. Surprisingly, given its ubiquity, how the internalization of sensory information from the environment to neural rhythms works remains controversial. One common model assumes that endogenous oscillations shape perception by synchronizing to external rhythms. This minisymposium will use evidence from human and animal neurophysiology and transcranial stimulation to debate the validity of this model and alternatives.
Unveiling the Neural Dynamics Underlying Movement and Respiration in the Spinal Cord and Medulla - Chethan Pandarinath
Chair: Chethan Pandarinath, PhDInstitution: Emory University and GA Tech
Co-Chair: Rune Berg, PhD
Institution: University of Copenhagen
Date & Time: Tuesday, October 8, 9:30 a.m.–noon
Location: MCP Room S406A
Theme: Theme E – Motor Systems
The recent confluence of large-scale in vivo recordings, deep learning, and causal manipulations has enabled a qualitatively different window into population dynamics in the spinal cord and medulla than previously possible. This minisymposium will present exciting developments that herald a new population-level understanding of subcortical pattern generation, highlighting the spinal and medullary network mechanisms underlying the production of breathing, movement, and protective reflexes.
Metabolic Axon-Glia Interactions in the Peripheral Nervous System - Bogdan Beirowski
Chair: Bogdan Beirowski, MD, PhDInstitution: The Ohio State University, Wexner Medical Center
Date & Time: Tuesday, October 8, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: MCP Room S103
Theme: Theme C – Neurodegenerative Disorders and Injury
Due to their exceptional energy demands, unique cyto-geometry, and exposure to various harmful stimuli, axons in the peripheral nervous system are especially vulnerable. These axons rely on extrinsic support from their surrounding Schwann cells (SCs). This minisymposium will focus on the latest advancements in the emerging concept of metabolic communication between axons and SCs as a determinant of nerve integrity under physiological and neurodegenerative conditions.
Neurobiological Substrates Supporting the Construction and Modulation of Empathy: A Translational Perspective - William C. Mobley
Chair: William Mobley, MD, PhDInstitution: UCSD
Date & Time: Tuesday, October 8, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: MCP Room S406B
Theme: Theme H – Cognition
Empathy is the basis of altruism, driven by a constellation of interactions between genetic, neurotransmitter, and higher-order brain circuits. This minisymposium will unravel novel evidence, presented across species, implicating a distributed system of transcriptional, molecular, and neuronal processes supporting the cultivation and modulation of empathy. This minisymposium will highlight how self-regulation and psychedelics can enhance behavioral and neural mechanisms supporting empathy.
Seizure and Epilepsy: New Opportunities for Detection and Treatment - Ruth A. Roberts
Chair: Ruth Roberts, PhDInstitution: Apconix
Co-Chair: Jennifer Pierson
Institution: Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI)
Date & Time: Tuesday, October 8, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: MCP Room S105
Theme: Theme B – Neural Excitability, Synapses, and Glia
Seizures occur in treatment-resistant epilepsy and are also a frequent adverse event (AE) in nonclinical and clinical drug development. Studying ion channels and the dynamics of networked brain activity presents the opportunity to develop novel therapeutic options for epilepsy and novel approaches to eliminate seizure liability as an AE. This minisymposium will highlight recent discoveries in the role of ion channels, networks, and multiscale brain activity in detecting, avoiding, and treating seizures.
Altered Protein Palmitoylation as Disease Mechanism in Neurodegenerative Disorders - Karin Hochrainer
Chair: Karin Hochrainer, PhDInstitution: Weill Cornell Medicine
Co-Chair: Jakub Wlodarczyk, PhD
Institution: Nencki Institute
Date & Time: Wednesday, October 9, 9:30 a.m.–noon
Location: MCP Room S406B
Theme: Theme C – Neurodegenerative Disorders and Injury
S-palmitoylation is a lipid-based reversible posttranslational protein modification that regulates protein trafficking, membrane association, and interactions. This minisymposium will discuss recent work across different neurodegenerative diseases, using diverse models and approaches to understand the consequences of aberrant protein palmitoylation for neurodegeneration. This minisymposium will also highlight potential therapeutic implications.
Development and Application of Fluorescence Lifetime Based Biosensors for In Vivo Imaging of Neuronal Function - Tal Laviv
Chair: Tal Laviv, PhDInstitution: Tel Aviv University
Co-Chair: Eric Schreiter, PhD
Institution: Janelia Research Campus, HHMI
Date & Time: Wednesday, October 9, 9:30 a.m.–noon
Location: MCP Room S100A
Theme: Theme I – Techniques
This minisymposium will provide an overview of current developments and applications of genetically encoded indicators optimized for fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM). The speakers will showcase a wide range of applications, including indicators for calcium, voltage, metabolites, neuromodulators, and protein signaling, for in vivo imaging within intact neuronal circuits. FLIM-based technological developments will accelerate the precision of imaging tools to faithfully interrogate brain function.
Neural Mechanisms of Satiety and Satiation - Alexander R. Nectow
Chair: Alexander Nectow, MD, PhDInstitution: Columbia University
Co-Chair: Stephen Zhang, PhD
Institution: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Date & Time: Wednesday, October 9, 9:30 a.m.–noon
Location: MCP Room S100BC
Theme: Theme F – Integrative Physiology and Behavior
Satiation and satiety respectively govern the short- and long-term forces influencing eating and body weight. Given the major healthcare burden represented by obesity and its sequelae, understanding the regulation of feeding remains a critical clinical issue. This minisymposium features a panel of scientists focusing on distinct aspects of feeding. They will present a framework for comprehending brain-body interactions that control short- and long-term decisions to eat.
Neuronal Translation: From mRNA Localization to Long-Term Memory Consolidation - Mauricio M. Oliveira
Chair: Mauricio Oliveira, PhDInstitution: New York University Center For Neural Science
Co-Chair: Ezgi Hacisuleyman, PhD
Institution: Scripps
Date & Time: Wednesday, October 9, 9:30 a.m.–noon
Location: MCP Room S102
Theme: Theme H – Cognition
Neurons have an extensive morphological shape, with each synaptic sub-compartment showing molecular individualities that contribute to the aftermath of neural communication. This minisymposium will cover the molecular underpinnings that drive distal mRNA localization in neurons and how these contribute to neuronal plasticity following activity and, ultimately, to long-term memory consolidation.
Synapse Formation and Refinement: To Prune or not to Prune? - Gregg Wildenberg
Chair: Gregg Wildenberg, PhDInstitution: University of Chicago
Co-Chair: Joseph Gogola, PhD
Institution: University of Chicago
Date & Time: Wednesday, October 9, 9:30 a.m.–noon
Location: MCP Room S105
Theme: Theme A – Development
This minisymposium will explore synaptic dynamics across the lifespan, with a particular focus on synaptic formation and refinement, or “pruning.” Presentations cover the structural, functional, and molecular underpinnings of synapse formation and refinement within and across different species. The panel of speakers will span these axes of synapse remodeling and provide a broad and multidimensional perspective on this critical process in the organizational principles of brain circuits.
Functions of Neuromodulatory Signaling During Sleep - Ada Eban-Rothschild
Chair: Ada Eban-Rothschild, PhDInstitution: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Date & Time: Wednesday, October 9, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: MCP Room S100A
Theme: Theme F – Integrative Physiology and Behavior
Neuromodulators are pivotal in many wake-supporting processes and are traditionally known for promoting wakefulness and being suppressed during sleep. However, emerging research is revealing diverse roles for neuromodulators during sleep. This minisymposium will highlight the latest breakthroughs, specifically emphasizing the functions of dopamine, acetylcholine, norepinephrine, and oxytocin in memory consolidation, brain oscillatory activity, and the overall architecture of sleep.
Glial Lipids and Metabolism - Holly K. Gildea
Chair: Holly Gildea, PhDInstitution: NYU Langone Health
Date & Time: Wednesday, October 9, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: MCP Room S105
Theme: Theme B – Neural Excitability, Synapses, and Glia
Glia, including astrocytes, microglia, and oligodendrocytes among others, regulate much of the metabolic state of the nervous system. Intercellular communication using lipid metabolites transported, synthesized, or modified by glia has been previously implicated in degeneration, toxicity, and normal brain health. This minisymposium will highlight recent findings in glial metabolism and lipid biology and investigate potential interactions between glia and neurons under stress and at homeostasis.
Molecular and Functional Organization of the Lateral Septum - Dionnet L. Bhatti Mazo
Chair: Dionnet Bhatti MazoInstitution: Harvard Medical School
Date & Time: Wednesday, October 9, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: MCP Room S406B
Theme: Theme G – Motivation and Emotion
The lateral septum (LS) is a limbic forebrain structure long recognized for regulating motivated behaviors such as aggression, avoidance, and reward-seeking. While distinct cell types in LS have been described, how this diversity fits to function remains elusive. This minisymposium aims to provide a comprehensive framework for understanding the role of LS in motivated behavior by exploring its breadth of diversity and merging molecular, cellular, circuit, and computational insights.
The Dialogue Between the Cerebellum and the Rest of the Brain: Learning to Make Predictions That Result in Better Movements and Better Decisions - Reza Shadmehr
Chair: Reza Shadmehr, PhDInstitution: Johns Hopkins University
Date & Time: Wednesday, October 9, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: MCP Room S406A
Theme: Theme E – Motor Systems
Large-scale recordings from the brainstem and mossy fibers reveal that the spinal cord and the cortex send the cerebellum information in a compressed form regarding the current state of the animal, including its sensory goals and motor commands. The cerebellum uncovers the statistical patterns in these inputs and subsequently generates predictions that improve the ongoing motor commands and the decisions that rely on a reward-based value system.
