Connectionists: Dear Learning and Memory Colleagues: Park City Winter Conference on the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory: Thursday, January 5th through Sunday, January 8th, 2017. Great SKIING and SCIENCE.

Thu Oct 6 17:19:23 EDT 2016

Dear Learning and Memory Colleagues,

Whether you work in animal learning or human memory, the best conference of the year in this integrated area of research is the annual Park City Winter Conference on the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, from Thursday, January 5th through Sunday, January 8th, 2017. If you ski, this is some of the best lightest powder skiing in the world and since the conference does not start until 4:30pm each day, you can get in 3 or 4 good solid days of skiing while also attending stimulating and informative conference sessions. Even if you don’t ski (and many attendees come just for the scientific interactions, even if they don’t ski) there are plenty of opportunities for cross-country skiing, winter hikes, snow-cat tours as well as exploring and shopping in historic Park City (originally a silver mining town). It is very much a bring-the-family event and many attendees come and make this a family winter vacation for skiing and more. Children welcome at the banquet and social events.

There are two sessions an evening, one before dinner (at 4:30pm) and another after dinner (at 8pm). This year, I will be chairing a symposium on Friday at 4:30pm on “SLEEP & MEMORY” with presentations by Itamar Lerner and myself (Rutgers), Jessica Payne (Notre Dame), Sara Mednick (UC Riverside), and Gina Poe (Michigan). 

Many other exiting symposia are offered as well. See below. There is also a “open mic” data blitz session on the first evening for those who want  to present brief bits of a talk for 5 minutes. 

Registration is moderately priced and the conference gets a very very good rate on hotel rooms because early January is a brief post Xmass/New Year’s week refractory period during which ski resorts are less crowded and prices lower.

For more information - see links below and key information from conference web page including program below.

- Mark Gluck

For more information and to pre-register, see

http://stark-labs.com/winterconference/meeting-logistics/ <http://stark-labs.com/winterconference/meeting-logistics/>

Key Info and Program Follows:

Date and Location
January 5-8, 2017 <http://stark-labs.com/winterconference/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/1.jpg>
Park City Marriott Hotel
Park City, Utah

The scientific sessions are held in the late afternoon and evening, leaving the day free for recreation and informal discussions.  The program information is available below.

Registration and Lodging
$225 for regular participants – Payable online <http://stark-labs.com/winterconference/?page_id=7> with a credit card or PayPal account (you don’t need an account – just enter your CC info) or at registration on January 5 from 3-4pm in the hall outside of Ballroom 1 at the Park City Marriott Hotel.
There is a reduced fee of $125 for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Banquet on Tuesday, January 6th. The banquet will cost $50.00 per person.
The Pizza Party will be free for participants and guests.
We have a block of rooms at the Marriott hotel at a discounted rate (Book your group rate for Learning & Memory 2017 Annual Winter Conference <http://www.marriott.com/meeting-event-hotels/group-corporate-travel/groupCorp.mi?resLinkData=Learning%20%26%20Memory%202017%20Annual%20Winter%20Conference%5ESLCPC%60LMSLMSA%60229.00%60USD%60false%602%601/5/17%601/9/17%6012/15/16&app=resvlink&stop_mobi=yes> link updated to allow 1/5 – 1/9 stays). If you plan to stay at the Marriott Hotel, they can be contacted directly at (435) 615-4547 or 1-800-228-9290.
Please make your reservation by Nov 17 and request a room booked by the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory Conference for the rate of $229.00 per night. In order to avoid paying higher prices for the hotel room, please make the reservation before November 17. Furthermore, we have booked a certain set of rooms and if they are not reserved by November 30, the conference will have to pay for the rooms, resulting in higher conference registration costs in the future.
Transportation
Transportation from Salt Lake City International Airport to Park City (approximately 40 miles) is available in all forms: bus, limousine, cab, rental car, etc. Park City Marriott Hotel provides a courtesy shuttle bus during peak periods to the ski area and downtown Park City. The fare is free and times vary with demand. Inquire at the hotel desk for further information. Park City offers a ski shuttle service from the ski area to area hotels. The fare is free and the shuttle departs the ski area on the hour and every 20 minutes with the exception of no run at 2:00 pm. Park City Marriott Hotel also provides for discount tickets for the three ski resorts in Park City.

If desired, ski rental and ski repair (e.g. waxing, tuning, and sharpening) are available at the hotel.

Talks
For the Data Blitz session (only), please give the title, presenter, and ppt slide (no more than one slide) to the session organizer.  No animations that change the size of elements, occlude elements, etc. are allowed (i.e., you may slowly uncover bits, but that is all).

Got something to share?
Looking for a roomate or a ride?  Want to get a group to do something fun during the day?  Try the Discussion Board <http://stark-labs.com/winterconference/?page_id=109>
2017 Program
Thursday January 5, 2017
Registration 3:00 -4:00 p.m. (Just outside Prospector 1-2)

Session 1: Dave Olton Data Blitz
Time: 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.
Location: Prospector 1-2

Organizer: Rebecca Burwell

Description: If you would like to present at this session, please e-mail Rebecca Burwell at rebecca_burwell at brown.edu <mailto:rebecca_burwell at brown.edu> with the title of your presentation. Presentations are limited to 5 minutes including discussion. Presentations are strictly limited to 1 slide with a single panel.

Pizza Party
Time: 6:30 -8:00 p.m.
Location: Atrium

Session 2: Hyperactive or hypoactive? Medial Temporal Lobe Imbalance in Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment
Time: 8:00-10:00 p.m.
Location: Prospector 1-2

Organizer: Arnold Bakker (JHU)

Increased hippocampal activation in the context of decreasing memory function is observed in aging and considered a characteristic feature of the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. However, the entorhinal cortex, which serves as the primary relay for both input and output to and from the hippocampus, is the site of the earliest pathological changes including neuronal, synaptic and volume loss. This session will discuss recent evidence from animal models and human subjects for the role of medial temporal lobe dysfunction and particularly focus on the role of the entorhinal cortex in age- and disease related memory decline.

Speakers:

Arnold Bakker (JHU): “Lateral entorhinal cortex hypoactivation in amnestic mild cognitive impairment”
Willem Huijbers (DZNE): “TBD”
Michela Gallagher (JHU): “Age-related medial temporal lobe network dysfunction: Contributions from animal models”
Friday January 6, 2017
Session 3: Sleep and Memory
Time: 4:00-6:00 p.m.
Location: Prospector 1-2

Organizers: Mark Gluck (Rutgers-Newark)

Over the last two decades, sleep has been repeatedly implicated in a wide array of learning and memory processes, with specific sleep stages and their corresponding neurophysiological characteristics differentially contributing to specific types of cognitive abilities. Ongoing research in both humans and animals is honing in on the precise nature of these relations and is attempting to decipher their underlying mechanisms. In our session, we will present a sample of contemporary work in the field covering a variety of methods and theories. Itamar Lerner and Mark Gluck (Rutgers-Newark) will present a recently developed computational model, based on studies of compressed memory replay during Slow-Wave-Sleep (SWS), to explain how sleep facilitates insight learning through a ‘temporal scaffolding’ mechanism. Jessica Payne (Notre Dame) will describe the unique interaction between stress and sleep and how it influences emotional memory. Sara Mednick (UC Riverside) will speak about the role of autonomic changes during sleep and their impact on memory consolidation. Lastly, Gina Poe (U. Michigan) will show how the specific neurochemical and electrophysiological features of Rapid-Eye-Movement (REM) sleep alter hippocampal-neocortical networks, based on rodent studies

Speakers:

Itamar Lerner & Mark Gluck (Rutgers U Newark): “Effects of sleep on insight learning is explained by a ‘temporal scaffolding’ mechanism based on compressed memory-replay”
Jessica Payne (U Notre Dame): “ Sleep-stress interactions in emotional memory consolidation”
Sara C. Mednick (UC Riverside): “What is the role of the autonomic nervous system during sleep-dependent memory consolidation?
Gina Poe (U Michigan): “How REM sleep neurochemistry and electrophysiology alters hippocampal and neocortical memory networks”
Dinner
Check out the new eateries in town.
6:00-8:00 p.m.
Session 4: Systems consolidation and memory transformation — From neurons to networks
Time: 8:00-10:00 p.m.
Location: Prospector 1-2

Organizer: Melanie Sekeres (Baylor U) and Paul Frankland (U Toronto)

Memory consolidation is a dynamic process occurring over the lifetime of a memory, yet the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. The hippocampus is considered to be a critical structure for the acquisition, initial storage, and retrieval of a memory, but there is considerable debate over the continuing role of the hippocampus in representing a memory as it ages and loses precision. Do the same neurons involved in the initial acquisition of a memory continue to support its retrieval as the memory transforms over time? What are the broader networks beyond the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex that become increasingly engaged as a memory ages and forms distributed traces in the cortex? In this session, we propose to explore the contribution of neuronal ensembles involved in memory acquisition and retrieval, as well as broader memory networks in rodents and humans. We will consider the degree to which evidence related to the mechanistic basis of memory consolidation in rodents applies to complex human memory.

Speakers:

Paul Frankland (U Toronto): “TBD”
Melanie Sekeres (Baylor U): “TBD”
Brian Wiltgen (UC Davis): “TBD”
Kiriana Cowansage (UCSD): “TBD”
Saturday January 7, 2017
Session 5: The Role of the Medial Temporal Lobe in Sensory Discrimination and the Relationship with Memory
Time: 4:00-6:00 p.m.
Location: Prospector 1-2

Organizer: Sara Burke (U Florida)

The extent to which the hippocampus and rhinal cortical areas participate in high-level sensory perception is actively debated. Recent data from studies in human subjects as well as animal models have highlighted that working memory may support discrimination abilities and that perceptual difficulty modulates memory performance. Speakers in this session will highlight current evidence that sensory discrimination across modalities is tightly related to memory performance. Discussion will focus on the potential mechanisms that link these cognitive processes and the extent to which perception and memory can be parsed into distinct cognitive domains.
Speakers:

Jennifer Bizon (U Florida): “Using olfactory discrimination to understand mechanisms of age-related cognitive decline”
Andrew Maurer (U Florida): “Lateral entorhinal cortical activation during exploration predicts object discrimination performance”
Michael Yassa (UC Irvine): “Extrahippocampal contributions to mnemonic discrimination and implications for age-related cognitive decline”
Lee Ryan (U Arizona): “Hippocampal-perirhinal interactions in aging”
Dinner
Check out the new eateries in town.
6:00-8:00 p.m.
Session 6: Critical role of the nucleus reuniens in hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex dependent memory systems
Time: 8:00-10:00 p.m.
Location: Prospector 1-2

Organizer: Timothy A. Allen (FIU) and Aaron Mattfeld (FIU)

The nucleus reuniens of the ventral midline thalamus (RE) has been the focus of several recent studies which collectively implicate RE as critical for memory. Anatomically, the nucleus reuniens bi-directionally connects the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and hippocampus (HC) in rodents and primates placing it at a critical nexus for modulating memory. In this session the speakers will (1) discuss the anatomical basis for understanding the role of RE in memory, (2) provide behavioral evidence that RE is critical to memory, (3) describe neural representations in and dependent on RE, and (4) relate these findings in a larger framework of an HC-RE-mPFC mnemonic system.

Speakers:

Robert P. Vertes (FAU):  “Anatomical connections of nucleus reuniens with the hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex and their functional significance”
Timothy A. Allen (FIU): “The role of the nucleus reuniens in the temporal organization of memories”
Amy Griffin (UD): “The nucleus reuniens orchestrates hippocampal-prefrontal synchrony during working memory”
Aaron Mattfeld (FIU): “Identification and function of nucleus reuniens in the humans”
Sunday January 8, 2017
Session 7: Learning and Memory in Neuropsychiatric Disorders
Time: 4:00-6:00 p.m.
Location: Prospector 1-2

Organizers: Pam Kennedy (UCLA)

A major impediment in the treatment of substance use disorders (SUDs) and anxiety/depression is the chronic relapsing nature of the diseases. Accumulating evidence suggests a critical role for altered function in brain circuits mediating learning and memory processes in the maintenance of maladaptive behaviors associated with these disorders. In this session we will present data from animal models describing molecular and circuit-level adaptations that may contribute to the persistence of SUDs and anxiety/depression.

Speakers:

Pamela Kennedy (UCLA): Memory system bias following withdrawal from drugs of abuse
A.J. Robison (MSU): Projection-specific hippocampal gene editing in emotional learning
Courtney Miller (Scripps, FL): Nonmuscle myosin IIB as a therapeutic target for the prevention of relapse to methamphetamine use
Business Meeting:
Time: 6:00-6:30 pm
Location: Prospector 1-2

Banquet
Time: 7:30-11:00 pm
Location: Prospector 1-2

Special Event: Returning members of the original organizers of this meeting (Ray Kesner, James McGaugh, Larry Squire and Aryehy Routtenberg) will discuss what they see as the future of learning and memory research.

Social Activities
Dinners
January 5rd – Pizza Party – For registrants or guests, no extra cost.
January 6th – Dinner (on your own)
January 7th – Dinner (on your own)
January 8th – Banquet – $40 for registrants and guests
Cash Bar (Timbers)
Friday, Saturday, Sunday evenings
10:00 pm-12:00 am
For Families:
Gorgoza Park (http://www.gorgoza.com <http://www.gorgoza.com/>): Tubing, mini-snowmobiles, learn to ski/ride, etc.
Tanger Outlets (http://www.tangeroutlet.com/parkcity <http://www.tangeroutlet.com/parkcity>): Shopping
Ice skating (http://www.resortcentericerink.com <http://www.resortcentericerink.com/>)
Alpine Coaster @ Park City (http://www.parkcitymountain.com/summer/alpine-coaster.aspx <http://www.parkcitymountain.com/summer/alpine-coaster.aspx>)
Utah Olympic Park (https://www.visitparkcity.com/visitors/resorts/utah-olympic-park/ <https://www.visitparkcity.com/visitors/resorts/utah-olympic-park/>): ski jump, bobsled, ropes course

___________________________________
Dr. Mark A. Gluck,  Professor  
Center for Molecular & Behavioral Neuroscience
Rutgers University — Newark                               
197 University Ave.                                   
Newark, New Jersey  07102                  
 	 Web:  http://www.gluck.edu <http://www.gluck.edu/>
	 Email:  gluck at pavlov.rutgers.edu <mailto:gluck at pavlov.rutgers.edu>
    	 Ph:  ( 973) 353-3298

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.srv.cs.cmu.edu/pipermail/connectionists/attachments/20161006/db499ada/attachment.html>