NIPS WS Program

[Christiane Linster]

  WORKSHOP PROGRAM 

                     NIPS'96 Postconference Workshop 

             NEURAL MODULATION AND NEURAL INFORMATION PROCESSING

                     Snowmass (Aspen), Colorado USA
                          Friday Dec 6th, 1996


		Akaysha Tang          Christiane Linster


OBJECTIVES


Neural modulation is ubiquitous in the nervous system and can provide
the neural system with additional computational power that has yet to
be characterized.  From a computational point of view, the effects of
neuromodulation on neural information processing can be far more

sophisticated than the simple increased/decreased gain control,
assumed by many modelers.  We would like to bring together scientists
from diverse fields of studies, including psychopharmacology,
behavioral genetics, neurophysiology, neural networks, and
computational neuroscience.  We hope, through sessions of highly
critical, interactive and interdisciplinary discussions, 

* to identify the strengths and weaknesses of existing research methodology
and practices within each of the field;

* to work out a series of strategies to increase the interactions between 
experimental and
theoretical research and; 

* to further our understanding of the
role of neuromodulation in neural information processing.

PROGRAM


Morning session

1. Vladimir Brezina, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine

"Functional consequences of divergence and convergence
in physiological signaling pathways"
Vladimir Brezina, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine

2. Sacha Nelson, Brandeis University

"Neuromodulation of short-term plasticity at visual cortical synapses"
and Afterpotentials: Seeing their Functional Role"


3. Michael Hasselmo and Christiane Linster, Harvard University

"Acetylcholine, Noradrenaline and Memory"

4. Sue Becker, McMaster University

"On the Computational Utility of Contextually Modulated Plasticity: A 
Model, soem Empirical Results and Speculations on Cortical Function"

Afternoon session

4. Eytan Ruppin, Tel Aviv University

"Synaptic Runaway in Associative Networks and
The Pathogenesis of Schizophrenic Psychosis"

5. Dennis Feeney, University of New Mexico

"Late Noradrenergic Pharmacotherapy Promotes Functional
Recovery After Cortical Injury"

6. Thomas Brozoski, Grinnell College

"Forebrain Dopamine Fluctuations During Pavlovian Conditioning"

7. Terrence Sejnowski, Salk Institute

"Dopamine and Temporal-Difference Learning in the Basal Ganglia"