Plenary Sessions and Discussions

Presenter: Farah Lubin, PhD
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Moderator: Marie E. Gaine, PhD
University of Iowa
Moderator: Amy L. Milton, PhD
University of Cambridge

The objectives of this session are to discuss how basic science researchers are studying epigenetic mechanisms in the healthy adult brain to mediate the process of long-term memory (LTM) formation, how gene activation and repression triggered by learning experiences in the hippocampus are targets of epigenetic mechanisms in the healthy brain, and how dysfunction of these epigenetic processes may likely give rise to memory disorders.

Unraveling Gut-Microbiota-Brain Interactions

Presenter: Mauro Costa-Mattioli, PhD
Baylor College of Medicine
Moderator: Amber Alhadeff, PhD
Monell Center and University of Pennsylvania
Moderator: Jun R. Huh, PhD
Harvard University 

Traditionally, when we think of behavior and neurological disorders, we think about the brain. Costa-Mattioli will describe his unexpected finding that microbes in the gut can modulate brain function and behaviors in an amazingly powerful way. Moreover, he will discuss his efforts to elucidate the mechanism(s) by which microbes modulate selective behaviors and the prospect of non-invasive microbial-based avenues to treat neurological dysfunction.

Engram Synapses

Presenter: Bong-Kiun Kaang, PhD
Seoul National University
Moderator: Denise J. Cai, PhD
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Moderator: Akiko Hayashi-Takagi, MD, PhD
RIKEN, Center for Brain Science

Although it became possible to optogenetically identify engram cells, we do not know whether memory formation modifies synapses between engram cells. In this talk, Kaang will present recent structural and functional approaches to reveal enhanced structural and functional connectivity between engram cells in the hippocampus and amygdala during fear memory formation. Engram synapses may form the synaptic correlate for memory formation, as D.O. Hebb prophesied.

Unconventional — What Non-Model Organisms Like the Mosquito Can Teach Us About the Brain

Presenter: Leslie B. Vosshall, PhD
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Rockefeller University
Moderator: Ben Matthews, PhD
University of British Columbia
Moderator: Lucia L. Prieto-Godino, PhD
The Francis Crick Institute

Early discoveries in neuroscience used ‘non-traditional’ organisms such as giant squid and Aplysia. Contemporary neuroscience has narrowed its focus to a few model systems, yet there is growing appreciation that studying diverse organisms will reveal broader insights into the brain. This session will discuss the development of the dengue vector mosquito Aedes aegypti into an organism for modern molecular neuroscience and how these discoveries can translate into preventing the spread of disease.

Presenter: Irene M. Tracey, PhD
Oxford University
Moderator: Victoria E. Abraira, PhD
Rutgers University
Moderator: Massieh Moayedi, PhD
University of Toronto

Local Receptor Control of Axonal Excitability and Striatal Dopamine Release

Presenter: Zayd M. Khaliq, PhD
National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Moderator: Andrea Gomez, PhD
University of California, Berkeley
Moderator: Theanne Griffith, PhD
University of California, Davis

Axons of dopaminergic neurons transmit reinforcement signals to the striatum through patterns of propagating action potentials. Within the striatum, dopamine signals are shaped independently by input from local striatal circuits and receptor-mediated conductances that influence axonal excitability and dopamine release. This plenary will discuss the mechanisms by which local receptors shape the membrane potential of axons, propagated firing, and ultimately striatal dopamine release.