British Neuroscience Association

PLENARY LECTURERS
Sunday 1st April, 5.30pm
Helen Mayberg (Atlanta, USA): Paths to recovery: modulating putative depression circuits using Deep Brain Stimulation

Monday, 2nd April, 8.30am: The Wolstencroft lecture
Joe LeDoux (New York, USA): Remembrance of emotions past: a view through fear

Monday, 2nd April, 5.30pm
Salvador Moncada (London, UK): Nitric oxide, bioenergetics and cell signalling

Tuesday, 3rd April, 8.30am
Graham Collingridge (Bristol, UK): Insights into the molecular basis of memory

Tuesday, 3rd April, 5.30pm: The Trends in Neuroscience Lecture
Yves Barde (Basel, Switzerland): Neurotrophins in development and diseases

Wednesday, 4th April, 8.30am
John Lowry (Conway, Ireland): In Vivo Voltammetry: real-time monitoring of brain chemistry.

Wednesday, 4th April, 11.00am
Edvard Moser (Oslo, Norway): Entorhinal grid cells and hippocampalmemory

Subcellular and proteomic approaches to dissect neuronal signaling pathways
Chair: Ralf Schoepfer (London)
Speakers:
Jan Van Minnen (Amsterdam, Netherlands): Cellular and proteomics approaches to protein synthesis in axons
Seth Grant (Cambridge): Evolution and diversity of the synapse proteome
Ralph Schoepfer (London): Posttranslational modifications and signaling in postsynaptic densities

Thalamocortical development
Chair: Zoltan Molnar (Oxford)
Speakers:
Nobuhiko Yamamoto (Osaka, Japan): Activity Independent and Dependent Mechanisms for the Formation of the Thalamocortical Projection
Kevin Mitchell (Dublin): Specificity and plasticity in thalamocortical connectivity: lessons from Semaphorin-6A mutant mice
Guillermina Lopez-Bendito (Alicante, Spain): Tangential Neuronal Migration Controls Axon Guidance: A Role for Neuregulin-1 in Thalamocortical Axon Navigation
David Price (Edinburgh): Molecular regulation of thalamocortical axonal navigation

Neuroreparative approaches using stem cell biology
Chair: Stefan Przyborski (Durham)
Speakers:
Maeve Caldwell (Cambridge): Neural stem cell therapy for Parkinsons Disease
Sue Barnett (Glasgow): Are there stem cells in the olfactory system
Anne Rosser (Cardiff): Finding cells for replacement therapy in Huntington's disease
Sidarthan Chandran (Cambridge): Embryonic solutions for adult problems

Emotion and Cognition: Anatomical substrates and therapeutic targets
Chair: Colin Ingram (Newcastle)
Speakers:
John Cryan (Cork): Novel Therapeutic targets for stress-related disoorders
Hugh Garavan (Dublin): Neuroanotomical substrates and disorders of frontal-lobe related cognitive processes

Cannabinoids - fate, food and fear
Chair: Veronica Campbell (Dublin)
Speakers: Veronica Campbell (Dublin): The influence of cannabinoids on neural fate.
Tim Kirkham( Liverpool): Cannabinoids, appetite and obesity
David Finn (Galway): Endocannabinoid-mediated modulation of fear-related behaviour: sites and mechanisms of action
Ruth Ross (Aberdeen): Cannabinoid Neuropharmacology: recent developments

The Neuropathology of Autism: Recent Advances in Understanding Neurochemical Mechanisms.
Chair: Gene J. Blatt (Boston, USA)
Speakers:
Gene Blatt (Boston, USA): Neurochemical Alterations in the Cerebellar and Limbic Systems in Autism
Jane Yip (Boston, USA): Functional status of cerebellar Purkinje cells in autism
Elaine Perry (Newcastle): Cholinergic systems in autism
Phil Luthert (London): Neuroanatomical substrates of autism
Payam Rezaie (Open University, Milton Keynes): Glial cells within the cerebral cortex in autism

A role for inflammation in neurodegeneration: Where do we stand?
Chair: Tom Connor (Dublin)
Speakers:
Tom Connor (Dublin): Noradrenergic control of inflammatory processes in the CNS
Marina Lynch (Dublin): Neuronal-glial interactions, inflammation and synaptic function
Daniel Anthony (Oxford): The systemic control of acute and chronic inflammation in the brain
Robin Franklin (Cambridge): Inflammation and CNS remyelination

Purines in physiology, plasticity and pathology
Chair: Bruno G. Frenguelli (Dundee)
Speakers: Phil Haydon (Pennsylvania, USA): Astrocytic purinergic signaling coordinates synaptic networks
Nick Dale (Warwick): Mechanisms of adenosine release in the basal forebrain and the control of sleep
Alex Gourine (London): The role of ATP in the brain mechanisms controlling breathing
Detlev Boison (Portland, USA): Adenosine, astrogliosis and epilepsy: a rational approach for novel cell and gene therapies

Circadian rhythms in the brain
Chair: Ela Pyza (Krakow) and Hugh Piggins (Manchester)
Speakers: Hugh Piggins (Manchester): Behavioural Feedback and Circadian Rhythms
Jolanta Zawilska (Warsaw, Poland): Melatonin in the avian retina and pineal gland - photic, circadian and neurochemical regulations
Ela Pyza (Krakow, Poland): Circadian plasticity of neurons and glial cells
Michael Nitabach (Yale, USA): Membranes, Ions and Clocks: Cellular Physiology of Pacemaker Neurons

From cell-cell recognition to memory formation
Chair: Mike Stewart (Open University)
Speakers:
Elisabeth Bock (Copenhagen, Denmark): Structural biology of neuronal cells adhesion molecules and their counter receptors
Mike Stewart (Milton Keynes): The role of cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) and CAM mimetics in synaptic plasticity: ultrastructural studies.
Carmen Sandi (Lausanne, Switzerland): Role of cell adhesion molecules in memory consolidation and cognitive flexibility

Discovering drug effects through functional brain imaging
Chair: Ingo Schiessl (Manchester)
Speakers:
Michael James (GSK, Essex): Functional-pharmacological MRI in drug discovery
Steve Williams (Manchester): Probing Serotonin and Glutamate Actions on the Brain in vivo: Pharmacological Challenge fMRI in animal models and human volunteers
Ingo Schiessl (Manchester): Analysis of pMRI data with Blind Source Seperation
Nicola Sibson (Oxford): Modulating neuronal and haemodynamic responses: coupling and uncoupling

New mutant models for neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders*
Chair: John Waddington (RCSI, Dublin)
Speakers:
Dairin Kieran (Dublin): SOD1mt-PUMA double mutants in relation to amytrophic lateral sclerosis
Kevin Mitchell (Dublin): Semaphorin and Plexin mutants as models for disorders of connectivity
Colm O'Tuathaigh (Dublin): Dissecting the genetic contribution to psychosis: new evidence from susceptibility gene mutants
Elizabeth Fisher (London): An aneuploid mouse with a human chromosome modelling Down Syndrome

Sleep and anesthesia: common mechanisms?
Chair: Bill Wisden (Aberdeen)
Speakers:
Nick Franks (London): General anaesthesia and sleep pathways
Helmut Haas (Dusseldorf, Germany): GABAergic inhibition of wake-active neurons

Synaptic origami: protein folding mechanism at the synapse
Chair: Vincent O'Connor and Andreas Wyttenbach (Southampton)
Speakers:
Ulrich Hartl (Munich, Germany): Molecular Chaperone as modulators of proteotoxicity in neurodegenerative disease
P.A.Skehel (Edinburgh): VAP proteins and neurodegeneration
Konrad Zinsmaier (Arizona, USA): Synaptic function of the Synaptic Vesicle-associated CSP/Hsc70 Chaperone

Giovanna Mallucci (London) Targeting cellular prion protein reverses early cognitive deficits and neurophysiological dysfunction in prion-infected mice.

Alcohol: molecular and cellular mechanisms of intoxication, tolerance and addiction
Chair: Lindy Holden-Dye (Southampton)
Speakers:
Dai Stephens (Sussex): Measuring motivation for moonshine in mutant mice; altered responses to booze and drugs in mice with mutations of GABAA receptor alpha subunits
Hilary Little (London): Alcohol, stress and memory
Rachel French (California): Drosophila as a genetic model for ethanol-induced neurodegeneration

Ubiquitination dependent regulation of synaptic development and plasticity
Chair: Josef Kittler (UCL)
Speakers:
Michael Ehlers (Durham): Bidirectional Control of Glutmatergic Synapses by Postsynaptic Ubiquitination
Andrea Brand (Cambridge): Control of synaptic development by the Anaphase Promoting Complex/Cyclosome
Scott Wilson (Alabama, USA): Regulation of synaptic function by ubiquitin-specific protease 14
Jeremy Henley (MRC, Bristol): SUMOylation Regulates Kainate Receptor Mediated Synaptic Transmission

Mulitsensory Processes
Chair: Fiona Newell (Dublin)
Speakers:
Fiona Newell (Dublin): Synaesthesia: a window into the genetic basis of multisensory processing
John Foxe (Dublin): How fast is multisensory integration in human cortex?
Stuart Smith (Dublin): A Multisensory spin on self-motion perception
Gemma Calvert (Bath) A combined intracranial EEG, MEG and fMRI look at audiovisual speech integration.

Alzheimer's disease: current therapies and progress on the development of drugs to slow disease progression.
Chair: Mike O'Niell (Lilly) and Eric Karran (Lilly)
Speakers:
Richard Mohs (Indianapolis, USA): Alzheimer's Disease is a Worldwide Problem: The Burden and Current Standards of Care
Menelas Pangalos (Wyeth, New Jersey, USA): An over-view of Beta-amyloid approaches
Peter Davis (New York): What is the significance of tau pathology in Alzheimer's disease?
Rachel Scahill (London): The Use of MRI for Tracking Disease Progression and Assessment of Novel Therapies in Alzheimer's Disease

Hipppocampal neurogenesis in mood disorders and their treatment
Sponsored by: British Association for Psychopharmacology
Chair: Clare Stanford (London) and Kevin Fone (Nottingham)
Speakers:
Erica Glasper (Princeton, USA): Stress and adult neurogenesis
Eberhard Fuchs (Gottingham, Germany): Adult neurogenesis is susceptible to chronic stress
Jaime McCutcheon (London): Genetic background influences neurogenesis and other associated phenotypes in the NK1-/- mouse
Ian Reid (Aberdeen): Brain Plasticity and anytidepressant treatments: new cells, new connections

Basal ganglia subcortical connections: exploring the brainstem
Chair: Paul Bolam (Oxford) and Philip Winn (St Andrews)
Speakers:
Philip Winn (St Andrews): Behavioural roles of the PPtg
Juan Mena-Segovia (Oxford): Physiological analyses of cholinergic and non-cholinergic neurons in the PPN that innervate the basal ganglia
Dipankar Nandi (Oxford): The role of the pedunculopontine nucleus in Parkinson’s disease
Pete Redgrave (Sheffield):Subcortical loops and through the basal ganglia