"School on Chemical Senses: Neurobiology and Behavior" Bertinoro, Italy, 3-8 June 2012.
Scientific organizers: Anna Menini and Sid Simon
Local organizer: Kathy-Ann Koralek ( kathyann.koralek@gmail.com )
More information (click here)
The goal of this School is to introduce PhD students and postdoctoral research trainees, already well prepared in neuroscience and related fields, to current understanding of the behavioral roles, functional organization, and neurophysiology of chemosensory (olfactory, gustatory, vomeronasal, and trigeminal) systems. Beginning with consideration of the chemical nature of the natural stimuli for which these systems are adapted, as well as their sensory ecology (the "behavior" of the stimuli in the environment), the program will unfold through detailed examination of each system as it is studied in experimentally favorable animals. Finally, chemosensation in humans and other mammals will be considered from the viewpoints of animal behavior and clinical science.
This subject is important both for understanding the biology and behavior of vertebrate and invertebrate animals and because of its relevance to human health and welfare. Most animals depend, more or less, on chemosensory information for successful reproduction, finding and ingesting nutrients, interacting with other animals (of their own or different species), and avoiding harmful agents. Thus, for example, many animals rely on species-specific sex pheromones for successful mating. The gustatory sensation of sweetness, saltiness, and bitterness powerfully affect ingestive behavior in many species including humans. And volatile cues lead disease-vector arthropods to human hosts for blood meals and thus play decisive roles in transmission of diseases that have deleterious effects on nearly half of the humans on earth.
These and other examples of the importance of the chemical senses will be emphasized as we explore how the chemosensory systems detect stimulus molecules, encode features of the stimuli in neural circuitry, integrate chemosensory information with other modalities, and ultimately generate or modulate behavior.
"Chemical Senses: Neurobiology and Behavior" is jointly funded by:
• Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS)
• International Brain Research Organization (IBRO)
• Society for Neuroscience (SfN)
