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Overview
Millions of people suffer from some form of neurological disease,
and abnormalities in brain circuits and their activities are recognized
as a place to focus in untangling brain disorders. Oscillations
and dynamic behaviour produced by neuronal circuits are being examined
in the context of several neurological diseases today. While the
functional aspect of the observed dynamics is not entirely clear,
it is clear that cellular aspects of circuits need to be included
in these examinations as specific cell types have been associated
with network dysfunction and neurological disease. A mechanistic
understanding, as can be brought about by mathematical modeling
and analyses, is needed to help advance our understanding of these
complex neurological diseases. However, developing and analyzing
models of normal and pathological dynamic activities in these complex
circuits is highly challenging. This is not only because of the
complexity and detail of the systems themselves, but also because
of the required multi-disciplinary aspect of the work. How does
one include cellular detail in mathematical models to allow linkage
to experiment and neurological disease? What techniques and methods
can and should be used to analyze the models? These difficult questions
need to be brought to the fore to allow us to move forth in our
understanding and to provide insights that would be helpful from
diagnostic and drug development perspectives.
In a series of workshops we will bring together neuroscientists,
mathematicians, clinicians and experimentalists to present and consider
these problems from several viewpoints. Speakers in the workshops
(as listed below) will present from clinical, experimental, modeling,
and mathematical perspectives. Mathematical tutorial type talks
will occur over the course of the workshops covering topics such
as phase plane analyses, weakly coupled oscillator theory, perturbation
theory, bifurcation theory, mean field analyses, and numerical tools.
Each workshop will end with a "brainstorming session"
for discussion, interaction and sharing of perspectives by all to
try to propose, define, and/or formulate mathematical and computational
problems relevant to the focus, and to identify where further models
and mathematical analyses are most warranted. The workshops will
be preceded by basic tutorial sessions, and additional discussion
and research time will be available after the workshops
Goals for this program include: (i) encouraging trainees in mathematics,
physical sciences, life sciences, and interdisciplinary studies,
especially new researchers and mathematicians, to get involved in
this exciting and challenging field of research, (ii) making neuroscientists
more aware of the mathematical tools available to aid with the study
of network models, (iii) making mathematicians more aware of the
challenges involved in modeling biological networks, and (iv) initiating
collaborations.
As a lead-up to the workshops in the following weeks, a series
of tutorials will be given. They will provide a basic background
in neurobiology and mathematical neuroscience modeling. These tutorials
will be mainly geared toward newcomers to the field. However, all
are welcome. Registration is required but there will be no charge.(Register
for Tutorials)
Weeks 2-4: Workshops
There will be limited space for posters at lunchtime on the first
day of each workshop. If you wish to present a poster,
please
submit a title and abstract .
Registration is required with costs as given above for each workshop.
Parkinson's
Disease Workshop - May 22-23, 2012
Register
for Workshop
Confirmed Speakers:
Robert Chen (TWRI/UHN and Univ Toronto)
Ming Cheng (Brown Univ)
Mandar Jog (Univ Western Ontario)
Michelle McCarthy (Boston Univ)
Cameron McIntyre (Cleveland Clinic)
Rosalyn Moran (Univ College London)
Leonid Rubchinsky (Indiana Univ-Purdue Univ)
Jonathan Rubin (Univ Pittsburg)
Sridevi Sarma (Johns Hopkins Univ)
Peter Tass (Research Ctr Juelich)
Charles Wilson (Univ Texas-San Antonio)
Schizophrenia
Workshop - May 24-25, 2012
Register
for Workshop
Confirmed Speakers:
Alla Borisyuk (Univ Utah)
Carmen Canavier (Lousiana State Univ)
Albert Compte (IDIBAPS Spain)
Bard Ermentrout (Univ Pittsburgh)
Nancy Kopell (Boston Univ)
Evelyn Lambe (Univ Toronto)
David Lewis (Univ Pittsburgh)
John Lisman (Brandeis Univ)
William Lytton (SUNY Downstate Med Ctr)
Edmund Rolls (Oxford Univ)
Epilepsy
Workshop - May 29-30, 2012
Register
for Workshop
Confirmed Speakers:
Sydney Cash (Harvard Univ and Mass General)
Peter Carlen (TWRI/UHN and Univ Toronto)
Rob Clewley (Georgia State Univ)
Alain Destexhe (UNIC/CNRS France)
Mark Kramer (Boston Univ)
Josh Lawrence (Univ Montana)
Tim Lewis (Univ California- Davis)
Erin Munro (RIKEN, Tokyo)
Steven Schiff (Penn State University)
Ivan Soltesz (Univ California- Irvine)
Roger Traub (IBM TJ Watson Ctr and Columbia Univ)
Alzheimer's
Disease/Pharmaceuticals Workshop - May 31-June 1, 2012
Register
for Workshop
Confirmed Speakers:
Vassilis Cutsuridis (King's College, London)
Barry Greenberg (TWRI/UHN)
Mike Hasselmo (Boston Univ)
Hinke Osinga (Univ Auckland)
Patrick Roberts (Oregon Health and Sciences Univ)
Horacio Rotstein (New Jersey Inst Tech)
Peter St. George-Hyslop (Univ Toronto and Univ Cambridge)
Kaori Takehara-Nishiuchi (Univ Toronto)
Sylvain Williams (Douglas Inst and McGill Univ)
Anesthesiology/Sleep
Disorders Workshop - June 4-5, 2012
Register
for Workshop
Confirmed Speakers:
Maxim Bazhenov (Univ California- Riverside)
Victoria Booth (Univ Michigan)
ShiNung Ching (Boston Univ)
Jeffrey Ellenbogen (Harvard Univ)
Sean Hill (Karolinska Inst)
Richard Horner (Univ Toronto)
Stanley Leung (Univ Western Ontario)
Beverly Orser (Univ Toronto)
Patrick L. Purdon (Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical
School)
Igor Timofeev (Univ Laval)
Martin Wechselberger (Univ Sydney)
Discussion and
Working Groups as related to the Thematic Focus Program.
All Thematic Focus Program participants are welcome!
Thursday, June 7 - Fields Room 210, 10:30
Large network simulations - models and mechanisms
Monday, June 11 - Fields Library, 10:30
Workshop Fallout - expected and unexpected issues
Thursday, June 14 - Fields Library, 10:30
Disease Insights from Models
Please feel free to contact Frances Skinner (frances.skinner<at>utoronto.ca)
if you have any particular suggestions. No registration is required.
Program Visitors
All scientific events are open to the mathematical sciences community.
Visitors who are interested in office space or funding are
requested to apply by filling out the application form (open
in 2012). Fields scientific programs are devoted to research
in the mathematical sciences, and enhanced graduate and post-doctoral
training opportunities. Part of the mandate of the Institute is
to broaden and enlarge the community, and to encourage the participation
of women and members of visible minority groups in our scientific
programs.
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