바이오인

AMYGDALA IN HEALTH & DISEASE

 

July 12-17, 2009
Colby College
Waterville, ME

 

Chairs:
Denis Pare & Gregory J. Quirk

 

Vice Chair:
Raymond Dolan

 

Application Deadline: Applications for this meeting must be submitted by June 21, 2009.

Please apply early, as some conferences become oversubscribed (full) before this deadline. If the conference is oversubscribed, it will be stated here. You will still be able to submit your application. However, it will only be considered by the Conference Chair if there are cancellations, making more seats available.

 

The amygdala is a cerebral structure of the temporal lobe that plays a critical role in the expression of emotions and the learning of new emotional responses. Much evidence suggests that human anxiety disorders result from anomalies in amygdala function. During the 2009 Gordon Research Conference on the amygdala, internationally renowned basic and clinical researchers will present their latest findings on the amygdala. During this conference, we will focus on research investigating the role of the amygdala in the formation and extinction of emotional memories, both normal and pathological. We will also consider the role of amygdalo-prefrontal interactions in the formation and extinction of aversive and appetitive memories. The collegial atmosphere of this Conference, with programmed discussion sessions as well as opportunities for informal gatherings in the afternoons and evenings, provides an avenue for scientists from different disciplines to brainstorm and promotes cross-disciplinary collaborations in the various research areas represented.

 

 

SUNDAY
2:00 pm - 11:00 pm Arrival and Check-in
6:00 pm Dinner
7:30 pm - 7:40 pm Welcome / Introductory Comments by GRC Site Staff
7:40 pm - 9:30 pm DEVELOPMENTAL REGULATION OF FEAR LEARNING
 Discussion Leader: Jocelyne Bachevalier (Emory University, Atlanta, GA)
7:40 pm - 8:05 pm  C.P. Wiedenmayer (Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, NYC, NY)
"Development of fear in early life"
8:05 pm - 8:15 pm  Discussion
8:15 pm - 8:40 pm  Regina M. Sullivan (University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma)
"Amygdala development and the emergence of fear"
8:40 pm - 8:50 pm  Discussion
8:50 pm - 9:15 pm  Rick Richardson (University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia)
"Developmental Differences in Extinction of Learned Fear"
9:15 pm - 9:25 pm  Discussion
9:25 pm - 11:30 pm  Informal Social

 

MONDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 am Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm PLASTICITY INDUCED IN THE AMYGDALA AND RELATED STRUCTURES BY FEAR LEARNING AND STRESS
 Discussion Leader: Sheena Josselyn (Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada)
9:00 am - 9:25 am  Pankaj Sah (University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Australia)
"The role of NMDA receptors in fear learning and extinction"
9:25 am - 9:35 am  Discussion
9:35 am - 10:00 am  Vadim Y. Bolshakov (McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, MA)
"Coincidence detection in fear conditioning pathways"
10:00 am - 10:10 am  Discussion
10:10 am  Coffee Break
10:45 am - 11:10 am  Ki A. Goosens (Brain and Cognitive Sciences, MIT, Cambridge, MA)
"Unique effects of chronic stress in the amygdala"
11:10 am - 11:20 am  Discussion
11:20 am - 11:45 am  Sumantra Chattarji (NCBS, Bangalore)
"Delayed impact of stress on the amygdala: implications for an animal model of PTSD"
11:45 am - 11:55 am  Discussion
11:55 am - 12:20 pm  Mike Davis (Emory University, Atlanta, GA)
"Role of the amygdala and BNST in phasic vs. sustained fear"
12:20 pm - 12:30 pm  Discussion
12:30 pm Group Photo / Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm Free Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm Poster Session
6:00 pm Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm PRIMATE AND HUMAN AMYGDALA
 Discussion Leader: Elizabeth A. Murray (NIMH, Bethesda, Maryland)
7:30 pm - 7:50 pm  C. Daniel Salzman (Columbia University, New York, NY)
"The representation of state value in the amygdala"
7:50 pm - 8:00 pm  Discussion
8:00 pm - 8:20 pm  Jocelyne Bachevalier (Emory University, Atlanta, GA)
"The development of social skills in monkeys: Effects of neonatal amygdala or Orbitofrontal cortex lesions"
8:20 pm - 8:30 pm  Discussion
8:30 pm - 8:50 pm  Elizabeth A. Phelps (New York University, New York City, NY)
"Impact of memory reconsolidation on the human amygdala"
8:50 pm - 9:00 pm  Discussion
9:00 pm - 9:20 pm  Ralph Adolphs (University of Iowa College of Medicine, USA)
"The role of the human amygdala in emotion and social cognition"
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm  Discussion
9:30 pm - 11:30 pm  Informal Social

 

TUESDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 am Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm AMYGDALA AND REWARD: PREFRONTAL INTERACTIONS
 Discussion Leader: Gregory J. Quirk (University of San Juan, PR)
9:00 am - 9:25 am  Elizabeth A. Murray (NIMH, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland)
"Interaction of instinct, affect and action in the amygdala and orbital frontal cortex"
9:25 am - 9:35 am  Discussion
9:35 am - 10:00 am  Stan B. Floresco (University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada)
"Dopaminergic regulation of amygdalo-prefrontal circuits in decision making"
10:00 am - 10:10 am  Discussion
10:10 am - 10:35 am  Geoffrey Schoenbaum (University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD)
"Processing of rewards and reward prediction errors in the amygdala and associated brain regions"
10:35 am - 10:45 am  Discussion
10:45 am  Coffee Break 
11:15 am - 11:40 am  Bernard W. Balleine (UCLA, Los Angeles, CA)
"Amygdala-prefrontal cortical interactions in instrumental conditioning"
11:40 am - 11:50 am  Discussion
11:50 am - 12:15 pm  Patricia H. Janak (UCSF, San Francisco, Emeryville, CA)
"Encoding of reward-predictive cues in the basolateral amygdala: Acquisition and behavioral specification"
12:15 pm - 12:25 pm  Discussion
12:30 pm Lunch
1:30 pm - 6:00 pm Free Time / Optional Excursion
6:00 pm Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm ANXIETY DISORDERS: HUMAN STUDIES AND ANIMAL MODELS
 Discussion Leader: Kerry J. Ressler (Emory University, Atlanta, GA)
7:30 pm - 7:50 pm  Charles B. Nemeroff (Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA)
"The Interaction of Child Abuse and Neglect and Genetic Polymorphisms in Vulnerability for Mood and Anxiety Disorders"
7:50 pm - 8:00 pm  Discussion
8:00 pm - 8:20 pm  Jorge Armony (McGill University, Montreal, Canada)
"Neuroimaging studies of amygdala function in anxiety disorders"
8:20 pm - 8:30 pm  Discussion
8:30 pm - 8:50 pm  Ned H. Kalin (University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin)
"Role of the amygdala in mediating the developmental risk to develop anxiety and depression"
8:50 pm - 9:00 pm  Discussion
9:00 pm - 9:20 pm  Andrew Holmes (NIH, Rockville, MD)
"Using mouse models to uncover genetic factors driving variation in cortico-amygdala function and fear behavior"
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm  Discussion 
9:30 pm - 11:30 pm  Informal Social

WEDNESDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 am Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm FORMATION AND CONSOLIDATION OF AVERSIVE MEMORIES
 Discussion Leader: Mike Davis (Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia)
9:00 am - 9:20 am  Mark Mayford (Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA)
"Probing how fear memories are represented in the amygdala using molecular techniques"
9:30 am - 9:50 am  Sheena Josselyn (Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
"Selective erasure of fear memory"
9:50 am - 10:00 am  Discussion
10:00 am - 10:20 am  Kay Jungling (Westfaelische Wilhelms-University, Muenster, Germany)
"GABAergic plasticity induced by fear conditioning"
10:20 am - 10:30 am  Discussion
10:30 am Coffee Break
11:00 am - 11:20 am  Fred J. Helmstetter (University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
"Molecular mechanisms of memory storage and stability"
10:20 am - 11:30 am  Discussion
11:30 am - 11:50 am  Hugh Blair (UCLA, Los Angeles, CA)
"Scariness and Scarability: Two determinants of fear behavior"
11:50 am - 12:00 pm  Discussion
12:00 pm - 12:20 pm  Stephane Ciocchi (Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Res., Basel, Switzerland)
"Plasticity of dis-inhibitory circuits in the central amygdala gate expression of conditioned fear"
12:20 pm - 12:30 pm  Discussion
12:30 pm Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm Free Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm Poster Session
6:00 pm Dinner
7:00 pm - 7:30 pm Business Meeting
 (Nominations for the next Vice Chair; Fill out Conference Evaluation Forms; Discuss future Site & Scheduling preferences; Election of the next Vice Chair)
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm CELLULAR AND NETWORK INTERACTIONS OF THE AMYGDALA
 Discussion Leader: Pankaj Sah (University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Australia)
7:30 pm - 7:50 pm  H.C. Pape (Westfaelische Wilhelms-University, Muenster, Germany)
"Rhythms of fear in the amygdala and beyond"
7:50 pm - 8:00 pm  Discussion
8:00 pm - 8:20 pm  Andrei T. Popescu (Rutgers University, Newark, NJ)
"Gamma oscillations coordinate amygdalo-striatal interactions during learning"
8:20 pm - 8:30 pm  Discussion
8:30 pm - 8:50 pm  John Powers (University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Australia)
"Calcium dynamics in dendrites and spines of basal amygdala neurons"
8:50 pm - 9:00 pm  Discussion
9:00 pm - 9:20 pm  Rony Paz (Weizmann Institute, Rehovot, Israel)
"Amygdala interactions with temporal cortices in humans"
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm  Discussion
9:30 pm - 11:30 pm  Informal Social

 

THURSDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 am Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm EXTINCTION: EMERGING TRENDS
 Discussion Leader: Rick Richardson (University of New South Wales, Australia)
9:00 am - 9:20 am  Gregory J. Quirk (University of San Juan, PR)
"The ying and yang of prefrontal control of extinction"
9:20 am - 9:30 am  Discussion
9:30 am - 9:50 am  Andreas Luthi (Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Res., Basel, Switzerland)
"Dissecting neuronal circuits of fear extinction in the basal amygdala"
9:50 am - 10:00 am  Discussion
10:00 am - 10:20 am  Taiju Amano (Rutgers University, Newark, NJ)
"Synaptic plasticity induced by extinction training in the amygdala"
10:20 am - 10:30 am  Discussion
10:30 am  Coffee Break
11:00 am - 11:20 am  Steve Maren (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI)
"Context and Time Regulate Fear Extinction"
11:20 am - 11:30 am  Discussion
11:30 am - 11:50 am  Satish S. Nair (University of Missouri)
"Computational models of fear extinction"
11:50 am - 12:00 pm  Discussion
12:00 pm - 12:20 pm  Raymond J. Dolan (University College London, London, UK)
"New approaches to testing causal models of extinction"
12:20 pm - 12:30 pm  Discussion
12:30 pm Lunch
1:30 pm - 6:00 pm Free Time / Optional Excursion
6:00 pm Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm INVOLVEMENT OF THE AMYGDALA IN AUTISM AND ANXIETY DISORDERS
 Discussion Leader: Elizabeth A. Phelps (New York University, New York City, NY)
7:30 pm - 7:50 pm  David G. Amaral (University of California, Davis, CA)
"Alterations of the amygdala in autism"
7:50 pm - 8:00 pm  Discussion
8:00 pm - 8:20 pm  Mohamed R. Milad (Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts)
"The Neurobiology of Fear Extinction in the Human Brain: Implications to Anxiety Disorders"
8:20 pm - 8:30 pm  Discussion
8:30 pm - 8:50 pm  Kerry J. Ressler (Emory University, Atlanta, GA)
"Translational research on anxiety and fear-related disorders such as PTSD"
8:50 pm - 9:00 pm  Discussion
9:00 pm - 9:20 pm  Kevin La Bar (Duke University, Durham, NC)
"Translational approaches to emotional memory regulation"
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm  Discussion
9:30 pm - 11:30 pm  Informal Social

 

FRIDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 am Breakfast
9:00 am Depart