Frontiers in Catecholamine Function from Synapses to Disease

The 2015 GRC on Catecholamines will focus on cutting-edge developments in catecholamine research from a broad range of approaches from molecular biology to behavior and clinical studies. One of the characteristics of the field is that neuronal systems using catecholamines have much in common, although investigators who focus on particular catecholamines or on different actions of the same catecholamine are often unaware of complementary aspects of catecholamine research. It is increasingly apparent that continued progress will require increasingly integrated approaches in studies of catecholamine biology, function and dysfunction. Thus, molecular biologists are being drawn to more integrated systems approaches and behavioral biologists are exploiting many molecular approaches. In particular, the embracement of cell-type-specific targeting approaches in recent years has permitted much more detailed and specific approaches to understanding catecholamine function, an important focus of the 2015 sessions. The past years have also witnessed a tremendous advance in our understanding of mental and neurological disorders, including drug abuse and Parkinson’s disease. Sophisticated behavioral measures combined with elegant molecular, cellular and systems approaches, along with powerful imaging studies in humans, have produced a large number of high-profile reports that are likely to have a positive impact on health issues. For example, the biological bases of reward processes are implicating several catecholamines and a variety of brain regions and signaling mechanisms. We plan to highlight these new advances to provide a unique opportunity to discuss recent advances in the understanding of how catecholamine systems may contribute to the pathophysiology and treatment of those conditions. To achieve these goals, the 2015 conference will include researchers at the forefront of catecholamine-related research, both junior and senior, presenting research encompassing basic mechanisms of catecholamine neurotransmission, integrated approaches to understand physiology and behavior, and studies of neurological and psychiatric pathology and treatment.