Keynote Speakers and So Much More at Neuroscience 2017

It seems that the more we learn about the brain, the more complexities we find. As one of the most intricate organs researchers have ever worked with, the brain continues to confound us. The Neuroscience 2017 virtual conference is primed to help scientists learn from colleagues and experts and reveal new research about the brain and nervous system. Neuroscience 2017 highlights new discoveries in cognition, motivation and emotion, sensory motor function and disease mechanisms. On March 15 at 9:00AM PDT, Dr. Stan Floresco, PhD will give his Keynote Presentation titled “Prefrontal GABA regulation of cognition: implications for psychiatric disorders.” Dr. Floresco is a Professor of Psychology and member of the Brain Research Centre at the University of British Columbia, and a Fellow of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology. Dr. Floresco has published over 90 peer-reviewed articles on his research employing behavioral and neurophysiological approaches to study neural circuits within the dopamine system that facilitate higher-order cognitive functions such as cognitive flexibility and cost/benefit decision making, and how dysfunction in these circuits may relate to psychiatric disease. The idea of schizophrenia typically conjures up images of people who hear voices, see visions and have delusional beliefs. However, clinicians have long recognized cognitive dysfunction as one of the most fundamental and debilitating aspects of the disorder.  Perturbations of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA within the frontal lobes are some of the most reliable alterations observed in the post-mortem brains of schizophrenic patients. These alterations may result in a hyperactive cortex that may impair attention and other cognitive functions regulated by the frontal lobes. To better understand how these pathophysiological alterations may contribute to schizophrenia symptomology, the Floresco lab has investigated how GABA transmission within the prefrontal cortex of rodents regulates a variety of cognitive, emotional and motivational functions known to be impaired in schizophrenia, using translational assays similar to those used with human patients. On March 16 at 7:30 AM PDT, V. Reggie Edgerton, PhD, Distinguished Professor, Neurosurgery Professor, Integrative Biology and Physiology, Neurobiology Vice Chair, Integrative Biology and Physiology, Member, Brain Research Institute, will give his Keynote Presentation on sensory motor function. Dr. Edgerton is currently the Director of the Neuromuscular Research Laboratory and a Distinguished Professor of Neurosurgery, Integrative Biology and Physiology at UCLA. He has been teaching and conducting research at UCLA for over 40 years. His research is focused on how the neural networks in the lumbar spinal cord of mammals, including humans, regain control of standing, stepping and voluntary control of fine movements after paralysis, and how can these motor functions be modified by chronically imposing activity-dependent interventions after spinal cord injury. Both Keynote presentations are eligible for P.A.C.E. Continuing Education credits. To earn free educational credits, attendees must view an entire presentation and follow the required process for that individual speaker. Once completed, attendees will receive a certificate for the educational credit. Click Here to see all of the premier speakers presenting at the Neuroscience 2017 event. Use #LRneuro to follow the conversation