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 November 15–19 in San Diego Convention Center. Minisymposia taking place during Neuroscience 2025 are listed below.
View other scientific sessions being held this year.
Cognitive Maps in the Prefrontal Cortex — Alla Y. Karpova
Chair: Alla Karpova, PhDInstitution: HHMI/ Janelia Research Campus
Co-Chair: Mathias Sablé-Meyer, PhD
Institution: University College London
Date & Time: Saturday, November 15, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: SDCC Rm 6CF
Theme: Theme I – Cognition
The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is critical for cognition. A plethora of findings implicate rich neural representations of learned task structures in the PFC. What dimensions of the external world and of our mental processes do these representations encode? And how do they facilitate flexible behavior? This minisymposium brings together empirical research from rodents, nonhuman primates, and humans with theoretical modeling to tackle these questions head on.
Converging Themes in Multisensory and Sensorimotor Integration — Patrick Haggard
Chair: Patrick Haggard, PhDInstitution: University College London
Date & Time: Saturday, November 15, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: SDCC Rm 29
Theme: Theme F – Motor Systems
The nervous system combines information across multiple sensory sources to flexibly regulate behavior. The recent research presented here nevertheless reveals striking variations across systems in how these processes work. The nervous system obeys Bayesian principles for cue combination, but only when multiple signals can be attributed to a common cause. This session will investigate how attribution and integration are related, across several sensory and motor systems.
Development of Molecular Neuropathology in Down Syndrome Across the Lifespan — Anita Bhattacharyya
Chair: Anita Bhattacharyya, PhDInstitution: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Date & Time: Saturday, November 15, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: SDCC Rm 6DE
Theme: Theme A – Development
Down syndrome is the most common genetic form of intellectual disability and the most common genetic form of Alzheimer’s disease, yet there is little information about how these two processes may be linked. This session will explore how neurodevelopment is disrupted and how neurodegeneration emerges in Down syndrome through presentations of molecular features of the brain throughout the lifespan, from prenatal development to Alzheimer’s disease onset in adulthood.
Glial Responses to Traumatic Brain Injury and Stroke: Mechanistic Implications for Brain Injury — Shinghua Ding
Chair: Shinghua Ding, PhDInstitution: University of Missouri
Date & Time: Saturday, November 15, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: SDCC Rm 6B
Theme: Theme D – Neuroimmunity, Neurovasculature, and Neural Injury
Central nervous system (CNS) injury including ischemic stroke and traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of human death and disability. Glial cells including astrocytes, microglia, and oligodendrocytes are important partners of neurons and are activated after injury. This session will provide mechanistic insights into reactive glial cells in functional recovery after CNS injury. The speakers have different academic ranks including postdoctoral fellow, assistant professor, and professor.
Recent Advances in Optically-Based Investigations of Synaptic Connectivity — Dimitrii Tanese
Chair: Dimitrii Tanese, PhDInstitution: Vision Institute
Co-Chair: Hillel Adesnik
Institution: University of California, Berkeley
Date & Time: Saturday, November 15, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: SDCC Rm 28
Theme: Theme J – Techniques
Mapping synaptic connectivity and investigating synaptic signaling are essential for understanding neuronal communication and linking circuits to function. Until recently, technical challenges limited the detection and recording of synapses to typically low-yield, invasive, or ex vivo approaches. This minisymposium will present novel strategies and optics-based methods for higher-throughput in vitro and in vivo investigations of functional synaptic connections at cellular resolution.
Beyond Dissociated Single Cells: High-Resolution Spatial Omics in Aging and Disease — Vilas Menon
Chair: Vilas Menon, PhDInstitution: Columbia University Irving Medical Center
Date & Time: Sunday, November 16, 9:30 a.m.–noon
Location: SDCC Rm 6B
Theme: Theme C – Neural Aging and Degeneration
Single cell studies have identified selective alterations in neurons and glia associated with aging and neurological disease. However, these studies discard spatial information since they rely on dissociated cells; localizing cell type-specific changes in intact tissue is the next frontier in single cell omics. This minisymposium will highlight results from a new class of single cell-resolution spatial transcriptomics, proteomics, and lipidomics studies of aging and neurodegenerative disease.
Connectivity, Computation, and Plasticity of the Early Visual System: Diversity and Common Rules — Xuefeng Shi
Chair: Xuefeng Shi, MD, PhDInstitution: Tianjin Eye Hospital, Nankai University
Co-Chair: Wei Wei, PhD
Institution: University of Chicago
Date & Time: Sunday, November 16, 9:30 a.m.–noon
Location: SDCC Rm 28
Theme: Theme E – Sensory Systems
The visual system is a complex hierarchical structure that computes diverse visual information to guide cognition and behavior. Elucidating the principles that govern the development and function of the visual system's circuitry is a central goal in visual neuroscience. This session will highlight recent advances in connectivity, computation, and plasticity in the retinocollicular and retino-geniculo-cortical pathways.
Critical Periods and Beyond: Dynamic Functions of Perineuronal Nets in Cognition, Development, and Disease — Jon Sakata
Chair: Jon Sakata, PhDInstitution: McGill University
Co-Chair: Barbara Sorg, PhD
Institution: Legacy Research Institute
Date & Time: Sunday, November 16, 9:30 a.m.–noon
Location: SDCC Rm 6CF
Theme: Theme G – Integrative Physiology and Behavior
Perineuronal nets (PNNs) are extracellular matrices that surround neurons regulating cognition, sensory processing, and behavior. Although the appearance of PNNs at the end of developmental critical periods identified them as “molecular brakes” on plasticity, recent studies extend their contributions to substance abuse disorders, metabolism, neurodegeneration, and more. This session will integrate fundamental and clinical studies to identify conserved and novel functions of PNNs.
Unlocking Lateral Entorhinal Cortex Functions: From Memory Formation to Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease — Susana Mingote
Chair: Susana Mingote, PhDInstitution: CUNY Advanced Science Res Ctr
Date & Time: Sunday, November 16, 9:30 a.m.–noon
Location: SDCC Rm 29
Theme: Theme I – Cognition
This session will explore the function of the lateral entorhinal cortex (LEC) in healthy, aging, and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) conditions. As a key player in episodic memory, the LEC is among the earliest regions affected by aging and AD. Understanding its vulnerabilities is crucial for developing interventions to mitigate cognitive decline. This minisymposium will highlight recent advances in LEC circuit functions and mechanisms underlying memory and its susceptibility to aging and AD.
Astrocytes as Therapeutic Targets in Neurodegenerative Disorders — Isabel Salas
Chair: Isabel Salas, PhDInstitution: Salk Institute
Co-Chair: Amaia Arranz, PhD
Institution: Achucarro Basque Center For Neuroscience
Date & Time: Sunday, November 16, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: SDCC Rm 6DE
Theme: Theme B – Neural Excitability, Synapses, and Glia
This minisymposium will explore the emerging roles of astrocytes in neurodegenerative disorders, emphasizing their contributions to disease pathogenesis and progression and their therapeutic potential. The speakers will also discuss the use of novel omics technologies, murine, and human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-based models to explore mechanisms underlying the involvement of astrocytes in pathological processes, as well as recent efforts to identify novel therapeutic targets and biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases.
Circuit-Based Approaches to Understanding the Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC) — Julie Fudge
Chair: Julie Fudge, MDInstitution: University of Rochester Medical Center
Co-Chair: Daulton Myers
Institution: University of Rochester
Date & Time: Sunday, November 16, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: SDCC Rm 6CF
Theme: Theme H – Motivation and Emotion
The ACC is an interface between “interoceptive” and “exteroceptive” worlds. The “interoceptive” subgenual ACC is now a clear marker and therapeutic target for severe mood disorders. Nearby ACC subregions play roles in effortful decision-making and monitoring social cues, also affected by these illnesses. This session will feature breakthroughs in the functional and structural details ACC subcircuitry primates and humans, to broaden understanding of symptoms, and drive precision targeting in psychiatry.
Emerging Experimental Approaches to Probe Conserved Neurobehavioral Mechanisms Underlying Affiliative and Antagonistic Social Behaviors — Farah Bader
Chair: Farah Bader, PhDInstitution: National Institute of Health
Co-Chair: Annegret Falkner, PhD
Institution: Princeton University
Date & Time: Sunday, November 16, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: SDCC Rm 6B
Theme: Theme G – Integrative Physiology and Behavior
This session will feature research integrating advanced tools for neural circuit recording and manipulation applied across diverse species, multi-scale computational modeling, and evolutionary and ethological frameworks to generate new paradigms for interrogating the conservation and divergence of neural circuit functions underlying social behaviors within such domains as aggression, sociality, courtship, and parental behavior.
Excitatory and Inhibitory Circuit Rewiring in Development and Adulthood — Csaba Foldy
Chair: Csaba Foldy, PhDInstitution: University of Zurich
Co-Chair: Lynette Lim, PhD
Institution: VIB/KU Leuven
Date & Time: Sunday, November 16, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: SDCC Rm 6A
Theme: Theme A – Development
The brain is remarkably flexible and adaptive. Neurons modify their connections throughout life in response to learning, sensory experiences, and insults. While the role of synaptic plasticity in circuit remodeling is well established, our understanding of large-scale structural reorganization, such as axonal rewiring, remains limited. This minisymposium will highlight recent advances in understanding brain rewiring in development and adulthood.
The Gut Microbiome in Traumatic Brain Injury: Insights From Bench and Bedside — Cole Vonder Haar
Chair: Cole Vonder Haar, PhDInstitution: Ohio State University
Date & Time: Sunday, November 16, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: SDCC Rm 29
Theme: Theme D – Neuroimmunity, Neurovasculature, and Neural Injury
Increasingly, the gut microbiome and enteric nervous system are recognized as significant contributors to a multitude of neurological and psychiatric disorders. An understanding of how the gut microbiome influences brain injuries and their sequelae is still developing. This session will highlight recent discoveries establishing a causal role for the gut microbiome in the evolution of post-injury pathology and functional consequences.
The Neuromuscular Junction: A Shared Vulnerability in Aging and Disease — Smita Saxena
Chair: Smita Saxena, PhDInstitution: University of Missouri
Co-Chair: Kathryn Moss, PhD
Institution: University of Missouri
Date & Time: Sunday, November 16, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: SDCC Rm 28
Theme: Theme C – Neural Aging and Degeneration
This session will delve into neuromuscular junction (NMJ) dysfunction in both aging and disease, examining its role in the development and progression of conditions like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), and Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT). Expert-led presentations will explore cellular and molecular changes at the NMJ by normal aging and pathophysiology, impacts on motor neuron and muscle function, and how aging accelerates disease pathogenesis. The session will aim to identify therapeutic targets to mitigate NMJ failure, enhance function, and improve quality of life.
Beyond Value: Noncanonical Roles for Dopamine in Aversion and Reward — Melissa Sharpe
Chair: Melissa Sharpe, PhDInstitution: University of Sydney
Co-Chair: Meaghan Creed, PhD
Institution: Washington University In St. Louis
Date & Time: Monday, November 17, 9:30 a.m.–noon
Location: SDCC Rm 6B
Theme: Theme H – Motivation and Emotion
Traditionally, dopamine has been restricted to reward processing and value assignment. However, recent work reveals a role for dopamine beyond value, ushering in a new era in the study of dopamine function. This minisymposium will reveal novel findings across diverse dopamine circuits in a range of procedures, including threat avoidance, chronic pain, aggression, and complex learning tasks. This work requires us to build new theories of dopamine that reflect this diversity of dopamine function.
Brain Networks, Sleep, and Dementia: Identifying the Role of Sleep in Neuropathological Progression and Translational Opportunities — Haung Yu
Chair: Haung Yu, PhDInstitution: University of Toronto
Co-Chair: Ksenia Kastanenka, PhD
Institution: Harvard
Date & Time: Monday, November 17, 9:30 a.m.–noon
Location: SDCC Rm 6CF
Theme: Theme C – Neural Aging and Degeneration
Sleep disturbance is linked to memory impairment and proteinopathy as seen in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The intricacies of how sleep disorders can be involved in neurodegenerative diseases are paramount to abating early AD pathological changes. This session will present work on mechanistic changes in neuronal or glymphatic networks, with translational insight as to how modulation of these systems can preserve memory and reduce neuropathology and may be used to identify vulnerable populations.
Novel Tools and Methods for Noninvasive, Remote Neuromodulation — Minsuk Kwak
Chair: Minsuk Kwak, PhDInstitution: Yonsei University
Co-Chair: Lee Jae Hyun, PhD
Institution: Yonsei University
Date & Time: Monday, November 17, 9:30 a.m.–noon
Location: SDCC Rm 28
Theme: Theme J – Techniques
This session will explore cutting-edge, non-invasive, and wireless neuromodulation techniques that enable precise spatiotemporal control of neural activity. Topics include magnetogenetics, sonogenetics, and wireless optogenetics, alongside advances integrating genetic engineering and nanoscale materials for cell type-specific and wireless manipulation of deep brain neurons and pathways in vivo, offering new insights into behavior, physiology, and neurological treatments.
The Richness of Vision in the Mammalian Brain: Neural Codes for Visual Perception and Behavior in Three Dimensions — Kristine Krug
Chair: Kristine Krug, DPhilInstitution: Otto-von-Guericke-University
Co-Chair: Ari Rosenberg, PhD
Institution: University of Wisconsin - Madison
Date & Time: Monday, November 17, 9:30 a.m.–noon
Location: SDCC Rm 29
Theme: Theme E – Sensory Systems
Primates and other mammals need to interact with a rich 3D environment to survive. Building on a detailed understanding of how binocular depth is encoded across the visual cortex, recent research has significantly contributed toward unraveling the neural representations and codes that shape our rich visual interactions with the 3D world around us. This session will highlight recent advances in our understanding of 3D perception and cognition across mice, tree shrews, monkeys, and humans.
Advances in Cell Therapy for Neural Repair — Michael Lane
Chair: Michael Lane, PhDInstitution: Drexel University
Co-Chair: Lyandysha Zholudeva, PhD
Institution: Gladstone Institutes
Date & Time: Monday, November 17, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: SDCC Rm 29
Theme: Theme D – Neuroimmunity, Neurovasculature, and Neural Injury
This session will present the latest advances in cell therapies for neural repair, featuring a diverse panel of experts and rising stars in neurotrauma. Cell therapy represents a leading approach for treating brain and spinal cord injury, with significant preclinical evidence for promoting repair and recovery, and translational developments. The session will highlight the convergence of stem cell biology, neuroscience, and engineering innovations that are transforming the therapeutic landscape.
Anxiety and Beyond: Diversity in Ventral Hippocampus Circuits and Functions — Benedicte Amilhon
Chair: Benedicte Amilhon, PhDInstitution: Université de Montréal - CHU Sainte-Justine Azrieli Research Center
Co-Chair: Andrew Macaskill, PhD
Institution: University College London
Date & Time: Monday, November 17, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: SDCC Rm 28
Theme: Theme H – Motivation and Emotion
The ventral hippocampus mediates diverse cognitive and emotional behaviors. This functional diversity is tied to intricate connectivity with other brain regions, including parallel input-outputs and local sub-circuits. This session will highlight recent circuit studies investigating the roles of distinct ventral hippocampus outputs (to lateral septum, nucleus accumbens, medial prefrontal cortex), inputs (from raphe nuclei), and local circuits, in reward-, emotion- and context-related functions.
No Central Executive?: Decision Formation Through Multi-Area Population Dynamics — Christopher Fetsch
Chair: Christopher Fetsch, PhDInstitution: Johns Hopkins University
Co-Chair: Chandramouli Chandrasekaran, PhD
Institution: Boston University
Date & Time: Monday, November 17, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: SDCC Rm 30ABC
Theme: Theme F – Motor Systems
Natural behavior is scaffolded by countless perceptual judgments and associated motor plans. Recent work suggests that this process evolves in a distributed manner across many brain areas, but how (and why) distributed circuits coordinate their activity during decision formation remains unclear. This session will highlight the use of high-density recording, causal circuit manipulation, and computational theory to uncover how population dynamics across multiple areas mediate perceptual decisions.
Shaping the Neocortex: Radial Glia and Astrocytes in Development and Evolution — Carmen Falcone
Chair: Carmen Falcone, PhDInstitution: Towson University
Co-Chair: Nereo Kalebic, PhD
Institution: Human Technopole
Date & Time: Monday, November 17, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: SDCC Rm 6CF
Theme: Theme A – Development
The session will highlight the crucial roles of radial glia and astrocytes in neocortex development and evolution. By integrating cutting-edge research on the neocortex across mammals, the speakers will show how these cells underlie the evolutionary expansion and the increase in brain complexity. The speakers will follow a developmental trajectory, from radial glia to astrocytes, thus providing a cohesive narrative linking cellular mechanisms to large-scale brain structures and evolutionary processes.
Single Cell Multiomics in Central Nervous System Injury and Recovery — Ozgun Gokce
Chair: Ozgun Gokce, PhDInstitution: Medical Faculty, University of BonnMedical Faculty, University of Bonn, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE)
Co-Chair: Naomi Habib, PhD
Institution: Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Date & Time: Monday, November 17, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: SDCC Rm 6B
Theme: Theme C – Neural Aging and Degeneration
This session will highlight the pivotal moment in neurodegenerative research, driven by the convergence of single cell and spatial data generation. It will explore opportunities to understand cognitive decline, develop interventions for central nervous system injury and neurodegenerative disorders, and discuss best practices from the Nature Neuroscience Focus issue on single cell genomics, emphasizing how omics can guide neuroscience research and shape future directions.
Behavioral Timescale Synaptic Plasticity: Phenomenology, Mechanisms and Role in Learning and Memory — Antoine Madar
Chair: Antoine Madar, PhDInstitution: University of Chicago
Date & Time: Tuesday, November 18, 9:30 a.m.–noon
Location: SDCC Rm 29
Theme: Theme B – Neural Excitability, Synapses, and Glia
Hebbian synaptic plasticity is currently the main, but limited, framework to relate neuronal activity, network structure, learning, and memory. However, in recent years, a series of experimental and computational modeling studies have revealed a potentially more impactful form of synaptic plasticity, triggered on large dendritic spikes, related to somatic bursting and operating on the timescale of seconds. This minisymposium will take stock of what is currently known about behavioral timescale synaptic plasticity.
Evolutionary Neurogenomics: Multiomics-Enabled Insights Into Neural Circuity and Behavior Across Species — Morgan Wirthlin
Chair: Morgan Wirthlin, PhDInstitution: Allen Institute for Brain Science
Co-Chair: Matthew Schmitz, PhD
Institution: Allen Institute for Brain Science
Date & Time: Tuesday, November 18, 9:30 a.m.–noon
Location: SDCC Rm 6CF
Theme: Theme G – Integrative Physiology and Behavior
The rise of genomics has provided unprecedented resolution of neural cell types at a molecular level. This opens a unique opportunity for comparative neurogenomics to uncover evolutionary and functional differences in cell types between species. This session will highlight how multi-omics approaches (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and epigenomics) are revealing how evolution acts on cell types, underpinning neural circuitry and behavior changes across diverse species.
More Than Just a Feature Detector: Unveiling the Diverse Roles of the Auditory System — Michele Insanally
Chair: Michele Insanally, PhDInstitution: University of Pittsburgh SOM
Date & Time: Tuesday, November 18, 9:30 a.m.–noon
Location: SDCC Rm 28
Theme: Theme E – Sensory Systems
Classic studies of the auditory system have emphasized its role as a feature detector that conveys sensory information to higher-order brain areas. However,emerging evidence indicates that the auditory system is critical for decision-making, learning, communication, and other high-order functions. This session will highlight recent cutting-edge studies on the diverse roles and unique neural circuit properties of the auditory system revealing its wider cognitive function beyond uni-sensory processing.
The Multilane Hippocampus: Parallel Circuits for Memory Processing — Flavio Donato
Chair: Flavio Donato, PhDInstitution: University of Basel
Co-Chair: Liset De La Prida, PhD
Institution: Instituto Cajal CSIC
Date & Time: Tuesday, November 18, 9:30 a.m.–noon
Location: SDCC Rm 6B
Theme: Theme I – Cognition
While the hippocampus is a recognized hub for memory processing, recent research has challenged the long-held assumption of homogeneity within its circuits, revealing an astonishing degree of diversity among its principal neurons and network dynamics. This session will trace the role of hippocampal diversity from development to adulthood, to offer new insights into how the hippocampus may exploit parallel processing channels to implement diverse computations for learning, memory, and navigation.
Cryo-Electron Tomography in Neurobiology — Shigeki Watanabe
Chair: Shigeki Watanabe, PhDInstitution: Johns Hopkins University
Co-Chair: Julia Peukes, PhD
Institution: CZ Imaging Institute
Date & Time: Tuesday, November 18, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: SDCC Rm 28
Theme: Theme J – Techniques
Electron microscopy has provided key insights into neurobiology from synapse structure and function to organelle dynamics within the nervous system. With cryo-electron tomography, we are now entering a new realm of revealing the molecular innerworkings at subatomic resolution, bridging structural biology and cell biology. This session will highlight recent breakthroughs in technologies to visualize individual molecules, molecular complexes, and their architecture in the native environment.
How Do They Do It?: Mechanisms Driving Microbial Regulation of Addictive Behaviors — Angela Carter
Chair: Angela Carter, PhDInstitution: University of Alabama, Birmingham
Date & Time: Tuesday, November 18, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: SDCC Rm 6B
Theme: Theme H – Motivation and Emotion
Large bodies of data have revealed strong associations between changes in the host microbiome and various neurological and behavioral disorders, including substance abuse. Several studies now also demonstrate causality between changes in microbiome composition and altered brain function. This session will focus on efforts to unravel the mechanisms behind these phenomena, from direct investigations of individual disease-promoting bacteria to systems-level approaches and evolutionary modeling.
Interneuron Computation in Health and Disease — Nathalie Dehorter
Chair: Nathalie Dehorter, PhDInstitution: The University of Queensland
Co-Chair: Ethan Goldberg, MD, PhD
Institution: The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Date & Time: Tuesday, November 18, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: SDCC Rm 6CF
Theme: Theme B – Neural Excitability, Synapses, and Glia
This minisymposium will review key mechanisms of interneuron function in maintaining the excitation-inhibition balance in both health and disease. Each speaker will explore the critical role of interneurons in brain disorders, including epilepsy and autism.
Neurobiology of Early Life Stress — Emily Makowicz
Chair: Emily MakowiczInstitution: Columbia University
Co-Chair: Brenna Williams
Institution: Columbia University
Date & Time: Tuesday, November 18, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: SDCC Rm 6DE
Theme: Theme A – Development
This session will bring together researchers studying early-life stress and adversity. Speakers will focus on the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of early-life stress, vulnerability, and resilience, and related psycho-affective disorders. This session will bring diverse perspectives that can mutually inform each other and address the growing concerns regarding early-life stress. This session will highlight the social and clinical implications of investigating the effects of early-life stress.
Sensorimotor Integration of Artificial Somatosensory Feedback — Hamid Charkhkar
Chair: Hamid Charkhkar, PhDInstitution: Case Western Reserve University
Date & Time: Tuesday, November 18, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: SDCC Rm 29
Theme: Theme F – Motor Systems
This session will explore how artificially elicited somatosensory inputs from emerging neural interfaces shape sensorimotor circuits and motor control. Although recent efforts have centered on characterizing elicited perceptions, a major gap remains in understanding how these signals modulate neural pathways and motor outputs. This minisymposium will highlight the circuit-level integration of these new inputs.
APOE Directed Therapeutics in Alzheimer's Diseases — Hussein Yassine
Chair: Hussein Yassine, MDInstitution: University of Southern California
Co-Chair: Ornit Chiba-Falek, PhD
Institution: Duke University School of Medicine
Date & Time: Wednesday, November 19, 9:30 a.m.–noon
Location: SDCC Rm 29
Theme: Theme C – Neural Aging and Degeneration
APOE4 is the strongest genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer's disease, yet very few therapies have been directed at APOE4 to date. This session will present progress on ApoE genetics, lipids, and inflammatory pathways from drug targets to clinical trials.
Experience-Driven Dynamics in Cortical Inhibition for Learning and Memory — Marlene Bartos
Chair: Marlene Bartos, PhDInstitution: University of Freiburg
Co-Chair: Jörg Geiger, PhD
Institution: Charite university medicine
Date & Time: Wednesday, November 19, 9:30 a.m.–noon
Location: SDCC Rm 6CF
Theme: Theme I – Cognition
GABAergic inhibitory interneurons are a highly diverse class of cortical cells, which influence the activity of pyramidal neurons and thereby shape the representation of afferent information in cortical networks. This minisymposium will discuss bridges between recent in vivo and in vitro studies to highlight new insights on experience-driven dynamics of hippocampal interneurons and their output synapses underlying the spatiotemporal emergence of memory traces during context learning for behavioral control.
Representation of Time in the Brain — Sze Chai Kwok
Chair: Sze Chai Kwok, DPhil.Institution: Duke Kunshan University
Date & Time: Wednesday, November 19, 9:30 a.m.–noon
Location: SDCC Rm 28
Theme: Theme I – Cognition
Inspired by recent discoveries of neural populations that track time for specific moments (time cells) and elapsed durations (temporal context and periodic time cells), this minisymposium will bring together macro-, meso-, and micro-scale neural evidence for a formulation of how time — and the memory of it — is coded and processed in the human and nonhuman primate brain. Computational principles and relationships to other related phenomena such as memory replay and emotion will also be discussed.
Adenosine in the Brain: Detection, Function, and Translation — Haining Zhong
Chair: Haining Zhong, PhDInstitution: Vollum Institute, OHSU
Co-Chair: Jiang-Fan Chen, MD, PhD
Institution: Eye Hospital,Wenzhou Medical University
Date & Time: Wednesday, November 19, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: SDCC Rm 6CF
Theme: Theme G – Integrative Physiology and Behavior
Although adenosine was discovered in the brain a century ago, we just began to understand where, when, and how it functions, in part thanks to recent technological advances. It is increasingly appreciated that adenosine is a major neuromodulator regulating brain circuits for sleep, movement, and cognitive functions. This session will highlight recent advances in measuring adenosine and its signaling in vitro and in vivo, as well as how it regulates brain function under normal and disease states.
Cellular Structure of the Spinal Cord: From Atlases to Multimodal Cell-Type Annotation — Allan-Hermann Pool
Chair: Allan-Hermann Pool, PhDInstitution: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Co-Chair: Trygve Bakken, MD, PhD
Institution: Allen Institute for Brain Science
Date & Time: Wednesday, November 19, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: SDCC Rm 29
Theme: Theme F – Motor Systems
The spinal cord is a critical somatosensory and motor center. How spinal cell types and their molecular and anatomic properties achieve their myriad functions remains intensely studied yet poorly understood. In this minisymposium, the speakers will highlight recent high-throughput efforts to characterize spinal cellular diversity and functionally, developmentally, and anatomically annotate, as well as therapeutically address spinal neural classes.
Neuroimmune Interactions in the Periphery — Hongzhen Hu
Chair: Hongzhen Hu, PhDInstitution: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Co-Chair: Brian Kim, MD
Institution: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Date & Time: Wednesday, November 19, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: SDCC Rm 28
Theme: Theme D – Neuroimmunity, Neurovasculature, and Neural Injury
Peripheral neuroimmunology transforms biology by uncovering key neuro-immune interactions across organs and diseases. This session will explore recent breakthroughs in the complex relationship between the peripheral nervous and immune systems, revealing how they jointly optimize behavior, immunity, and physiology. These insights revolutionize our understanding of disease mechanisms and offer new perspectives on their potential treatments.
Oligodendrocyte Pathophysiology and Repair Mechanisms in Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer's Disease, and Parkinson's Disease — Brad Lang
Chair: Brad Lang, PhDInstitution: Convelo Therapeutics
Co-Chair: Sinead O'Sullivan, PhD
Institution: German Center for Neurodegenerative diseases (DZNE)
Date & Time: Wednesday, November 19, 2–4:30 p.m.
Location: SDCC Rm 6DE
Theme: Theme B – Neural Excitability, Synapses, and Glia
This session will highlight the pivotal role of oligodendrocytes in neurodegenerative disease pathophysiology, emphasizing their contributions beyond myelination. Understanding oligodendrocyte signaling in central nervous system repair and its role in diseases like Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease is vital for developing novel therapies. Integrating advances in stem cell therapeutics and remyelination strategies, this minisymposium will showcase oligodendrocyte biology as a promising avenue for therapeutic innovation.
