USC-Chen Institute Frontiers Forum 2024
“Sensation and Motivation”
Building on the success of its inaugural forum in collaboration with the Tianqiao & Chrissy Chen Institute, the 2nd iteration will retain its primary focus on the integration and processing of external and internal sensory information that drive behavioral responses. Additionally, the forum will broaden its discussions to include the rapid-growing fields of deep-learning and artificial intelligence. By bringing together esteemed researchers from various disciplines, our goal is to understand a general question of how brain circuits produce sensation and motivation. This event will serve as a hub for sharing the latest research breakthroughs, identifying salient questions and guiding principles, and fostering prospective collaborations.
Organizers:
Dr. Li Zhang, Center for Neural Circuits & Sensory Processing Disorders
Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, USC
Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute (cheninstitute.org)
Time: April 24-25, 2024
Location: Herklotz Conference Room, ZNI 112
RSVP： TBD
Invited Speakers
Ann Kennedy
Northwestern University
Neural circuit computations regulating the adaptive expression of survival behaviors
Discusses how neural circuits integrate sensory inputs with internal states to produce adaptive behaviors, using dynamical systems and machine learning.
Alexander Heimel
Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience
Context-dependent response to threats via hypothalamus to brainstem
Focuses on neural mechanisms of adaptive stress responses, revealing the role of the dorsomedial hypothalamus in mediating stressor-specific behaviors.
Byungkook Lim
University of California San Diego
Cortical Interneuron dynamics underlying drug seeking after withdrawal
Addresses how changes in cortical interneuron activity contribute to drug-seeking behaviors post-withdrawal, offering insights into addiction and relapse.
Brian Lee
University of Southern California
Utilizing cortical stimulation of the primary somatosensory cortex to generate percepts of somatosensation
Electrical stimulation of somatosensory cortex through mini-ECoG grids for restoring useful sensation to patients with paralysis or spinal cord injury.
Annegret L. Falkner
Princeton University
Mapping the neural dynamics of social dominance and defeat
Examines neural correlates of aggression and social hierarchy, focusing on how experiences of dominance and defeat affect neural activity and behavior.
Weizhe Hong
University of California Los Angeles
Neural Basis of Prosocial Behavior
Investigates the neural pathways underpinning empathic and prosocial behaviors, focusing on the amygdala and prefrontal cortex.
Michael Jacobs Goard
University of California Santa Barbara
Visual contributions to internal representations of the local spatial environment
Explores how mice use visual information to form and update internal models of spatial environments, contributing to understanding spatial awareness.
Robert Froemke
New York University
Love, death, and oxytocin: the challenges of mouse maternal care
Focuses on oxytocin’s role in enabling maternal behavior in mice, studying the neural mechanisms through continuous monitoring and neural recordings.
Stephanie Correa
University of California Los Angeles
Integration of metabolic and reproductive states in the neural circuit that controls feeding
Discusses how somatostatin neurons in the hypothalamus influence feeding behavior, sensitive to metabolic and reproductive states.
Huizhong Whit Tao
University of Southern California
A thalamic inhibitory control of colliculus-mediated visual behavior
Discusses how specific thalamic nuclei influence visual perception and processing.
Badr Albanna
AI Research Engineer II at Duolingo & adjunct visiting professor the University of Pittsburgh
Lessons for NeuroAI from the early transformer era
Discuss potential areas for fruitful collaboration between Neuroscience & AI in the early transformer era.
Li I. Zhang
University of Southern California
Neural circuitry for dysregulation of brain homeostasis under stress