Neural control of behaviour – Series 1: Navigation

Organiser: FENS

Additional Organiser: Hertie Foundation

Website

Attendance type(s): In Person

FENS members will benefit from preferential rates

Event Dates: 10—16 Dec 2017

Navigation and spatial orientation are crucial capacities for animals and humans. What are the sensory cues and behavioural strategies that underlie navigation? And what are the neural mechanisms responsible for navigation?  These questions have been studied historically by two very different research traditions. Research coming from ethology and ecology has examined how animals such as insects or birds navigate in the wild over long distances and what sensory cues they are using. Research coming from neuroscience and psychology have mostly studied navigation in rats and mice in laboratory mazes and discovered several spatial cell types, including place cells, grid cells and head-direction cells. In this FENS Winter School, we will aim to bridge the gap between these traditions: to broadly cover the various approaches used to study the neurobiology of navigation. We will discuss animal navigation across species – including insects, birds, bats, rodents, and humans. We will discuss our state-of-the-art knowledge concerning the sensory cues, behavioural strategies and neural mechanisms underlying navigation – and, importantly, we will also highlight what we do not know, i.e. where future challenges lie. This course is meant for PhD students and postdocs, preferably with some knowledge of the subject.

Contact Details

Name: FENS

Email: schools@fens.org