Cosyne 2007 Workshops
February 26-27, 2007
The Canyons, Utah
Workshop Title
Conserved functions of the basal ganglia circuit
Organizer(s)
Jesse H. Goldberg (MIT): jesseg1@mit.edu
Michael A. Farries (Univ. of Texas San Antonio)
Abstract
Recent advances in functional neuroanatomy have revealed that the basic structure of the basal ganglia (BG) is conserved from anamniotic tetrapods to reptiles, birds, and humans. Across species, BG circuits with common neurochemistry, cytoarchitecture and synaptic connectivity form topographically organized loops that interconnect sensory and motor systems and subserve motor learning. What are the essential functions of this circuit and why has it been conserved? The goal of the proposed workshop is to bring together researchers who study the basal ganglia in different systems to discuss common features and functions of the circuit. Specifically, we will focus, first, on the common structure and cellular elements of the BG circuit. We will next consider BG circuit function as it relates to motor learning in songbirds and mammals, and, lastly, its relevance to psychiatric illness in the human patient.
Speakers
| Sten Grillner (Karolinska Institute) | The lamprey basal ganglia - structure and function evolutionary conserved |
| Michael Farries (U. Washington) | Avian striatal spiny neurons: a mixture of conservation and divergence |
| Abby Person (U Washington) | Thalamic relay of basal ganglia information: insights from songbirds |
| Michale Fee (MIT) | Vocal experimentation in the juvenile songbird requires a basal ganglia circuit |
| Ann Graybiel (MIT) | The basal ganglia and action: what's going on in the striatum? |
| David Redish (U Minnesota) | Striatal representations in rats running spatial and non-spatial tasks |
| Chris Pittenger (Yale) | Disrupted basal ganglia information processing in Tourette syndrome |
