2017 Dendrites: Molecules, Structure and Function Gordon Research Conference and Gordon Research Seminar

PROJECT SUMMARY Dendrites are long thin processes on which a neuron receives synaptic connections from other neurons. Numerous voltage-gated channels present in dendrites transform signals arriving along these connections, altering how neurons interpret each others? messages. This electrical activity interacts with sophisticated gene transcription and protein translation machinery present in the dendrite. Dendrites are therefore sites of spatially and temporally complex integration of electrical and chemical signaling networks operating in parallel and interacting with another. Numerous human diseases and disorders are now known to involve disruptions of dendritic structure, function. Dendrites? remarkable capacity for change is thought to underlie normal learning and memory, and dysfunction within such plasticity mechanisms has been repeatedly implicated in neurodevelopmental disorders. The 2017 Gordon Research Conference and Seminar on Dendrites will bring together scientists of all levels who study these issues at the molecular, cellular, computational, circuit, and behavioral levels. The goal of this meeting is to exchange knowledge at the frontiers of dendrite research and strengthen communication among researchers from numerous disciplines who investigate dendrites.