Spinal cord formation, function, and beyond

This workshop explores how the spinal cord links sensation to action. Within this remarkable part of the nervous system, incoming sensory information is processed and filtered, and precise patterns of muscle activity are coordinated. The circuits that do this enable the full spectrum of behavior, from reacting to a painful insult to executing the complex movements necessary to play a musical instrument.

Talks will cover how the spinal cord forms, how sensory information flowing through neurons in the dorsal spinal cord shapes immediate motor responses and complex behaviors requiring supraspinal processing, and how ventral motor circuits orchestrate the activity of hundreds of muscles. The workshop will explore these systems through both developmental and functional lenses, examining how molecular organization during development establishes the adult neural architecture that enables sensorimotor integration. Injury or disease can cause debilitating sensory and movement deficits as diverse as the motor and sensory circuits they disrupt. Understanding the spinal cord promises therapeutic interventions to repair or reorganize damaged sensorimotor circuits. This workshop brings together world-class researchers to present cutting-edge findings on the spinal cord in health, injury, and recovery.

Participation fee: 100,000 JPY

Registration includes:
•    Participation in sessions
•    Accommodation is included. Participants will be hosted in shared double rooms at the Seaside Hotel or equivalent accommodations.
•    Coffee breaks
•    Meals during session days
•    Local sightseeing tours

Workshop website: here