Symposia
Theme A: Development
underlying its efficacy are largely unknown and
Eph Receptors and Ephrins:
subject to much speculation. This symposium will
Therapeutic Targets for Neural Injury and
include presentations focusing on current medical
Neurodegenerative Diseases CME
opinion regarding DBS efficacy, case studies,
Chair: Ann Turnley, PhD
theory, and modeling, with a goal of uncovering the
Wednesday, Nov. 13, 8:30–11 a.m.
biological underpinnings of its beneficial effects at
San Diego Convention Center: 6F
the molecular, cellular, network, and system levels.
Eph receptors and ephrins are best known for
The Brain-Blood Connection: Brain Control
their role as axon guidance molecules. However,
Over Its Own Blood Flow in Normal and
increasing evidence over the last few years has
Dysfunctional States CME
indicated they also play a major role in neural
Fred Kavli Public Symposium
Fred Kavli Public Symposium on Creativity
Chair: Antonio Damasio, PhD
Chair: Ron D. Frostig, PhD
Support contributed by: The Kavli Foundation
Sunday, Nov. 10, 8:30–11 a.m.
Saturday, Nov. 9, 1:30–4 p.m.
mechanisms of action in a range of neural injury
San Diego Convention Center: 6B
San Diego Convention Center: 6A
and disease models, how Eph receptors or
There is an emerging consensus that insights
ephrins may be targeted for therapeutic purposes,
Creativity is one of the defining traits of
into normal as well as pathological brain function
and which neurological diseases or injuries may
humanity. It manifests itself in the organization
depend on an integrated understanding of
be most appropriate to treat with Eph receptor/
of social systems (e.g., moral, political, and
active neurons and glia and their local and
ephrin-targeting agents.
economic), in the arts (from music, painting,
global dynamic interactions with vasculature and
and theater to literature and film), and in all
metabolism. Using state-of-the-art in vitro and
manner of inventions (from scientific explana-
in vivo techniques, the speakers will describe
tions and technical instruments to complex
the latest findings on these integrated, dynamic
engineered systems). How does the brain
All for One and One for All: Progress in Single
interactions that underlie normal brain function
work to produce such extraordinary results?
Cell Neurobiology CME
as well as dysfunctional states such as focal
Do these varied endeavors share brain strate-
ischemia, seizures, and stroke.
gies and structures? Join two neuroscientists,
regeneration and neuroprotection in adults. This
symposium will discuss their role and potential
Theme B: Neural Excitability, Synapses,
and Glia: Cellular Mechanisms
Chair: James Eberwine, PhD
Co-chair: Andrea C. Beckel-Mitchener, PhD
Monday, Nov. 11, 1:30–4 p.m.
San Diego Convention Center: 6A
Complex biological systems are made up of
individual cells that work in concert. Recent
advances in single cell methods are enabling
Neuropeptide Signaling in Cellular
Interactions CME
a composer (and a piano), a visual artist, and
an inventor/scientist/engineer for a discussion
on the neuroscience of creativity.
Chair: Illana Gozes, PhD
Monday, Nov. 11, 8:30–11 a.m.
San Diego Convention Center: 6B
and causal role of interactions between these brain
regions in behavior. Speakers will present data
higher resolution analysis of molecular and cellular
Neuropeptide signaling is functionally essential
using a variety of approaches, including multisite
processes and providing a window into the
through G protein-coupled receptors, which
neural recordings, and genetic and optogenetic
properties of individual cells and their integration
are important drug targets. Neuropeptide-stem
manipulations in rodent and non-human primate
into functional networks. New and quantitative
cell interaction, cell migration, signaling-system
models. Combined, the symposum will present
measures allow unprecedented views of cellular
biology, drug design, and development will
a unified view of a three-part circuit crucial for
heterogeneity for multiple phenotypes, which
be explored. The symposium will focus on
emotional behavior.
will facilitate better understanding of important
PACAP, VIP, bradykinin, endothelin, galanin,
neurobiological phenomena. Data encompassing
and a downstream drug candidate, davunetide.
The Role of Transposable Elements in Health and
multiple systems and neuronal cell types will be
Disease targets include Alzheimer’s and related
Diseases of the Central Nervous System CME
presented including human neurons, human iPS,
tauopathies, post-traumatic stress disorder,
and mouse neuronal systems.
depression, stroke, and spinal cord injury.
Theme C: Disorders of the Nervous System
The Emotion Triad: The Role of Interactions
Mechanisms of Deep Brain Stimulation
Efficacy in Neuropsychiatric Disorders CME
Chair: Dennis L. Glanzman, PhD
Co-chair: Helen S. Mayberg, MD
Sunday, Nov. 10, 8:30–11 a.m.
Between the Amygdala, Hippocampus, and
Chair: Matthew Reilly, PhD
Co-chair: Fred H. Gage, PhD
Monday, Nov. 11, 8:30–11 a.m.
San Diego Convention Center: 6F
Medial Prefrontal Cortex in Mood
Almost half of mammalian genomes are com-
and Anxiety CME
prised of transposable elements (TEs). Yet, their
Chair: Joshua A. Gordon, MD, PhD
Monday, Nov. 11, 8:30–11 a.m.
role in human health and disease is undefined.
The impetus for this symposium comes from
the recent identification of CNS-specific TEs as
San Diego Convention Center: 6F
San Diego Convention Center: 6A
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been used
The amygdala, medial prefrontal cortex, and hip-
ability to rewire gene expression networks in the
pocampus are separately implicated in mood and
brain. The symposium will address the role of TEs
anxiety. This symposium will explore the dynamics
in health and diseases of the CNS.
therapeutically in the treatment of depression and
obsessive-compulsive disorder, yet the mechanisms
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generators of genetic heterogeneity and their
P RO G R A M
Find the latest session information — SfN.org
Neuro-Epigenetics in Neural Development,
Theme D: Sensory and Motor Systems
Plasticity, and Brain Disorders CME
Maps and Meters for Sound Location CME
Chair: Hongjun Song, PhD
Chair: Jennifer M. Groh, PhD
Co-chair: J. David Sweatt, PhD
Co-chair: Catherine Carr, PhD
Monday, Nov. 11, 1:30–4 p.m.
Monday, Nov. 11, 1:30–4 p.m.
San Diego Convention Center: 6B
San Diego Convention Center: 6F
Epigenetic mechanisms play critical roles in
Neural populations use two types of codes:
tissue-specific gene expression, X chromosome
“maps” of neurons serving as labeled lines for
inactivation, gene imprinting, and reprogramming.
preferred parameter values or “meters” in which
Groundbreaking discoveries in the past two years
information is encoded via neural firing rates.
have overturned several decade-old dogmas.
Sound location is a computed parameter for which
This symposium will discuss recent advances in
type of code is possible. The symposium highlights
the understanding of epigenetic mechanisms,
evidence suggesting that some species and brain
including DNA modifications, miRNA and piRNA
structures use maps and others use meters.
Empirical Approaches
to Neuroscience and
Society Symposium
in the wider context of neurogenesis, neuronal
Presenters explore the evolutionary, computational,
Gender Bias: Facing the Facts for the
development, synaptic plasticity, learning and
and perceptual factors that may favor one coding
Future of Neuroscience
memory, and brain disorders.
scheme over another.
Chair: Jennifer L. Raymond, PhD
Epigenetics in Epilepsy: Epiphany or
The Neuronal Code(s) of the Cerebellum CME
Epiphenomenon? CME
Chair: Detlef H. Heck, PhD
Chair: Tallie Z. Baram, MD, PhD
Saturday, Nov. 9, 1:30–4 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 12, 8:30–11 a.m.
San Diego Convention Center: 6F
San Diego Convention Center: 6F
Sunday, Nov. 10, 8:30–11 a.m.
San Diego Convention Center: 6A
To address the daunting challenges in
neuroscience, we must effectively utilize
the best scientific talent. Recent studies
This symposium will highlight new findings related
Epilepsy that follows brain insults involves
suggest that gender bias is limiting our ability
to the neuronal code used by cerebellar neurons
transformation of normal neurons and circuits
to do this. In this symposium, leading social
for the representation of behavioral and sensory
into an epileptic network. Evidence is emerging
scientists will present data on the prevalence
processes. New in vivo and in vitro experimental
for large-scale changes in gene expression and
of gender bias, its influence on our decisions,
results, as well as modeling studies, provide
associated epigenetic chromatin alterations
and its effects on the career paths of women.
evidence for key roles of both temporal precision
during the epileptogenic process. However,
Interventions to reduce gender bias in the
of individual action potentials and slow modula-
how insults engage “master-switches” of cellular
scientific workplace will be discussed.
tions of action potential rate. The presentations by
machinery to enduringly alter gene-expression
a diverse and multinational group of speakers will
and the causal role of epigenetic changes in
showcase different approaches and perspectives.
epilepsy are unclear. Mechanistic roles and
potential therapeutic potential of epigenetics in
Sensory End Organs: Signal Processing in the
epilepsy will be discussed and debated.
Periphery CME
How Do Immune Cells Shape the Brain in
Chair: Stephen D. Roper, PhD
Health, Disease, and Aging? CME
Chair: Michal Schwartz, PhD
Co-chair: Serge Rivest, PhD
Wednesday, Nov. 13, 1:30–4 p.m.
How the Lateral Hypothalamus Links Energy
Status With Motivated Behaviors CME
Tuesday, Nov. 12, 8:30–11 a.m.
Chair: Alan G. Watts, PhD
San Diego Convention Center: 6B
Tuesday, Nov. 12, 1:30–4 p.m.
Receptor end organs actively modulate, smooth,
amplify, and otherwise shape signals prior to
San Diego Convention Center: 6A
transmitting sensory information to the spinal
Functional integrity and plasticity of the brain
information processing in peripheral sensory
depend on immune cells. This symposium will
organs. The conclusion is that local interactions
cover the various barriers regulating immune cell
between cells within end organs significantly
entry and their distinct functions, the location and
shape the sensory output. Neurotransmitters,
the role displayed by circulating immune cells
including serotonin, ACh, glutamate, and ATP,
in supporting brain plasticity in both the young
act as modulators during sensory signaling.
and elderly in acute and chronic neuropathology,
Theme E: Integrative Systems:
Neuroendocrinology, Neuroimmunology,
and Homeostatic Challenge
cord and brain. This symposium addresses this
San Diego Convention Center: 6A
The lateral hypothalamus has been recognized for
many years as essential for organizing motivated
behaviors, particularly sleep, feeding, and rewardrelated functions. This symposium will present
exciting new findings that are making seminal
contributions to our understanding of the cellular
and systems-level mechanisms that form the
basis for how this key brain region links metabolic
signals with the neural substrates of food choices
and addictive behaviors.
and how immune cells enter the CNS without
breaching the blood-brain barrier.
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N e u r o s c i e n c e 2 0 13
CME This activity has been approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit ™. See page 62 and visit SfN.org/cme for details.
Neocortex: Why So Many Layers and Cell
and behavior. Recent discoveries regarding
The Human Connectome in Health and
Types? CME
the newly identified epigenetic modification
Disease CME
Chair: Randy M. Bruno, PhD
Co-chair: Jackie Schiller, PhD
Wednesday, Nov. 13, 8:30–11 a.m.
San Diego Convention Center: 6B
5-hydroxymethylcytosine and how it contributes
to experience-dependent neural plasticity across
the lifespan, as well as how it contributes to the
development of neuropsychiatric disorders such as
drug addiction and schizophrenia, will be discussed.
was described more than a century ago. Since
then, numerous cell types have been defined,
differing in connectivity, morphology, and
biophysics, but their distinct functional roles
remain unknown. Recently, new optical and
Co-chair: Martijn van den Heuvel, MS
Wednesday, Nov. 13, 1:30–4 p.m.
San Diego Convention Center: 6B
The connectome has emerged as a buzzword
Neocortex is not a collection of homogenous
and interchangeable “units.” Its laminar structure
Chair: Andrew Zalesky, PhD
Novel Advances in Understanding Mechanisms
in neuroscience that now encompasses any
of Habituation CME
network description of whole brain connectiv-
Chair: Catharine Rankin, PhD
Sunday, Nov. 10, 1:30–4 p.m.
San Diego Convention Center: 6B
ity. Connectomics is a technically challenging,
rapidly advancing field, which means it is often
perceived as inaccessible. This symposium will
update the neuroscience community on recent
physiological techniques have afforded unique
Habituation, a gradual decrease in response fol-
advances in mapping the human connectome
insights into the architecture of cortical circuitry
lowing repeated stimulation, is the simplest form
using MR imaging and EEG/MEG techniques,
and begun directly linking specific layers and cell
of learning and a foundation of selective attention.
with an emphasis on demonstrating how these
types to sensation and behavior.
The behavioral characteristics of habituation are
advances can be used to understand brain con-
well understood, yet remarkably, the molecular
nectivity in health and disease.
Theme F: Cognition and Behavior
mechanisms underlying the behavioral decrement
Multilevel Analysis of Pattern Separation and
are not. This symposium will discuss a range of
Completion: A Role for Subregions of the
approaches in four different model systems to
Theme H: History, Teaching, Public Awareness, and Societal Impacts in Neuroscience
Hippocampus CME
develop new insights into the cellular mechanisms
Law and Neuroscience
Chair: Craig Stark, PhD
underlying behavioral habituation.
Chair: Owen Jones, JD
Saturday, Nov. 9, 1:30–4 p.m.
Brain, Cognition, and Genetics in Healthy
Wednesday, Nov. 13, 8:30–11 a.m.
San Diego Convention Center: 6B
Aging CME
San Diego Convention Center: 6A
The hippocampus plays a critical role in memory
Chair: Apostolos P. Georgopoulos, MD, PhD
This symposium, featuring interdisciplinary
and its disruption is tied to many disorders. Our
Tuesday, Nov. 12, 8:30–11 a.m.
panelists, aims to introduce neuroscientists to
understanding of the hippocampus has been
San Diego Convention Center: 6A
the newest developments at the intersection
advanced recently by experimentally testing
computational models’ predictions about the role
of hippocampal subfields in pattern separation
and pattern completion. The speakers will
address the computational basis of pattern
separation and completion as well as behavioral
and neural evidence based on lesions, unit
The symposium will focus on the intersection of
crucial fields in aging research, specifically brain,
cognition, genetics, and neuroinformatics. Lectures
will discuss diverse but complementary topics
as they pertain to healthy brain aging. The topics
include cognition, including neurobiology, across
recordings, human fMRI, and disorders.
species; whole brain measurements; and genetics
5-Hydroxymethylcytosine and Active DNA
integrated within a neuroinformatics framework to
Demethylation in Experience-Dependent Neural
focus on healthy brain aging will be addressed.
of brain aging in humans. How these areas can be
of neuroscience and law. Recent years have
seen tremendous growth both in neurolaw
scholarship and courtroom encounters with
neuroscience. This symposium is an excellent
opportunity to foster interdisciplinary dialogue on
topics such as neuroscience and responsibility,
legal decision-making, neuroethics, brain-based
lie detection, and more.
Function and Psychiatric Disorders CME
Chair: Timothy Bredy, PhD
Sunday, Nov. 10, 1:30–4 p.m.
San Diego Convention Center: 6A
The covalent modification of DNA influences
transcription during early development and
throughout life, playing an important role in
mediating gene-environment interactions
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P RO G R A M
Find the latest session information — SfN.org