5-7 June, 2009

Organizers-  Rui Oliveira (ISPA/IGC, Portugal), Katharina Hirschenhauser (Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Germany), Gowan Tervo (Janelia Farm, USA)

Instructors- Ed Kravitz (Harvard, USA), Rui Oliveira (Lisbon, Portugal), Peter McGregor (Cornwall, UK), Bob Elwood (Belfast, N. Ireland), Ryan Earley (Alabama, USA), John Wingfield (UC Davis, USA), Katharina Hirschenhauser (Vienna. Austria), Jim Goodson (Indiana, USA), Russ Fernald (Stanford, USA),Greg Ball (Baltimore, USA), Jacques Balthazart (Liege, Belgium), Svante Winberg (Uppsala,Sweden), Kim Huhman (GSU, Atlanta, USA), Daniel Peterson (Chicago, USA), Gunther Zupanc (Bremen, Germany), Luke Remage-Healey (UCLA, USA), Hans Hofmann (Austin, USA), David Clayton (Chapel Hill, USA), Cliff Summers (Vermillion, USA),  Gowan Tervo (Janelia Farm, USA)

Agenda:

• The nature vs. nurture debate has been ubiquitous in the history of the Brain and Behavioral Sciences, and the approaches of the social and the biological sciences to the study of behaviour have been seen as almost mutually exclusive. In recent decades a growing body of literature has documented social influences on genetic constitution and gene expression, functioning of the endocrine and nervous systems, and immune activity. These results suggest that the effects of social factors on the expression of behavior must have underlying biological processes. Therefore, a major challenge of current behavioral neuroscience is to understand how psychological and social factors can modulate biological mechanisms underlying behavior. Theoretically, the cellular, molecular and physiological basis of social modulation of behaviour can be explained either by structural rewiring or by biochemical switching of the neural networks underlying social behaviour, depending on the effects of social context on behaviour being long-lasting and slow or rapid and reversible, respectively.

• The purpose of this workshop is to bring together researchers from different backgrounds to exchange ideas on the function and mechanisms involved in the social feedback on neuroendocrine mechanisms underlying social behavior. The main topics to be address during the workshop are the following: How social interactions are shaped by the social milieu in which the individuals interact? (i.e. effects of prior experience and social context); What is the ecological function of this social modulation behaviour? What are the mechanisms that translate social information into neuroendocrine signals? How socially-driven neuroendocrine signals modulate subsequent behaviour? Therefore, we hope that this meeting works not only as a forum for the exchange of new ideas but also as a promoter that will foster the development of new research directions in this multidisciplinary area.

Workshop Schedule:

Friday -5	Saturday - 6	Sunday - 7
Opening lecture / IGC Seminar:   12:00-13:00 Ed Kravitz “The fruit fly fight club: a model system for the study of aggression” 13:00-14:30 Lunch Break Workshop introduction: 14:30-15:00 Rui Oliveira “Social behavior in context: Neuroendocrine mechanisms of social plasticity. Session 1 Interacting in a social network: 15:00-15:30 Peter McGregor “Communicating in a social network” 15:30-16:00: Bob Elwood “Limits to information gathering about opponents affect decision-making processes in animal contests”	Session 2 Social modulation of hormones, brain and behaviour: ecological and evolutionary perspectives 9:30-10:00 Jim Goodson “ Birds of a Feather: Neuromodulatory Patterning and the Evolution of Sociality” 10:00-10:30 John Wingfield “The Challenge Hypothesis: Behavioral Ecology to Neurogenomics” 10:30-11:00 Coffee Break 11:00-11:30 Katharina Hirschenhauser “Phylogenetic analysis of androgen responsiveness to social interactions in vertebrates” 11:30-12:30 Session 2 General Discussion (moderator: Katharina Hirschenhauser) 12:30-14:00 Lunch Break Session 3 Translation of social information into neural and endocrine signals 14:00-14:30: Greg Ball "Social Modulation of Adult neuroplasticity in Songbirds?" 14:30-15:00: David Clayton “Songbird neurogenomics” 15:00-15:30: Julie Desjardins “Social status induced changes in the brain-pituitary-gonadal axis and reproductive behavior 15:30-16:30: Session 3 General Discussion (moderator: Gowan Tervo) 16:30-17:00 Tea Break Session 4a How socially induced hormonal changes change behaviour? I. Neuromodulation 17:00-17:30: Luke Remage-Healey "Local forebrain steroid production and action during social behavior" 17:30-18:00: Jacques Balthazart "Brain-derived estrogens affect sexual behavior in a rapid manner reminiscent of neurotransmitter action" 18:00-18:30: Cliff Summers “Social Stress, Learning and Choice”  18:30-19:00: Svante Winberg Social modulation of monoamine systems 20:00 Workshop Dinner	Session 4b   How socially induced hormonal changes change behaviour? II. Rewiring the brain   9:30-10:00: Gunther Zupanc ”Neural plasticity and motivational changes in behaviour” 10:00-10:30: Kim Huhman  “Social Stress-Induced Changes in Brain and Behavior” 10:30-11:00: Coffee Break  11:00-11:30: Daniel Peterson “Psychosocial stress and neurogenesis” 11:30-12:00: Hans Hofmann “Genes, Sex & Dominance: An Integrative Approach Towards Social Behavior” 12:00-13:00: Session 4 General Discussion (moderator: Rui Oliveira) 13:00-13:15: Workshop closing