"Structural and Functional Organization of the Synapse," will draw international leaders in neurosciences to Iowa City. It will be divided into two sessions: June 1-3 will feature talks covering critical issues in the field; and a research seminar June 4-7 will provide a forum for interactions in a unique format allowing ample time for discussions.

Synapses are the points of intimate contact between neurons that transmit, process and store information. Johannes Hell, conference organizer, said: "Without understanding the structure and function of the synapse, it is not possible to understand information processing by the nervous system, modulation of information processing in learning and memory, and disruption of information processing and storage in neurological and psychiatric diseases and in brain trauma."

The conference, which is open to the public, begins at 7 p.m. Friday, June 1, with a keynote address by Mark Mayer, a senior investigator at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, an affiliate of the National Institutes of Health. The keynote address will be in Room 1110A in the UI Medical Education and Research Facility. The rest of the conference will consist of 24 talks by various researchers followed by brief discussions.

Many of the speakers from the conference will convene at the Obermann Center for Advanced Studies on Monday, June 4, for the annual Obermann Summer Research Seminar. This four-day meeting will provide a more in-depth forum for discussing recent findings and theories in synapse formation and function.

Both the conference and the seminar are open to the public. There is a registration fee for the conference, which is being held at the UI's Medical Education and Research Facility. For more information and to register, visit the conference web site at: http://www.uiowa.edu/~confinst/synapse/generalinfo.htm. For more information or special accommodations to attend, contact Johannes Hell at johannes-hell@uiowa.edu.

June 4 - 7, 2007 Schedule >>

Seminar director: Johannes W. Hell (Pharmacology, The University of Iowa)

Participants:
Daniel Choquet (Francois Magendie Institute, University of Bordeaux)
Michael D. Ehlers (Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute)
Alaa El-Husseini (Neuroscience, University of British Columbia)
Jose Esteban (Pharmacology, University of Michigan)
Kristen Harris (Natural Sciences, University of Texas at Austin)
John Lisman (Neurosciences, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA)
Stefan Strack (Pharmacology, The University of Iowa)
Stephen Traynelis (Pharmacology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA)
Antoine Triller (Biology, INSERM, Paris, France)
Yuriy Usachev (Pharmacology, The University of Iowa)
Richard J. Weinberg (Biology, University of North Carolina)
Robert J. Wenthold (Neurochemistry, NIDCD, National Institute of Health)
Mary Kennedy (Biology, California Institute of Technology)