AU Symposium on Behavioral Neuroscience

Every other year the Center organizes an international symposium on a topic related to one or more of its focal themes. The world's leading researchers on the issue are invited to join scientists from the Center to present their most exciting and recent work. Participants will prepare a manuscript on their presentation for inclusion in the symposium proceedings, which will be published in a peer-reviewed, international journal.

Annual Center Retreat

All members of the Center for Neuroscience and Behavior are invited to an annual retreat. Here members will have the opportunity to present research findings and ideas with a special emphasis on identifying areas of overlap or synergy that could be the basis for collaboration. A second purpose is to report Center activities and plans to the membership for their review and evaluation.

Special Lectures in Behavioral Neuroscience

In years the symposium is not offered the Center sponsors a special topics seminar course, "Special Lectures in Behavioral Neuroscience." This graduate level course identifies important contemporary problems and "hot topics" in behavioral neuroscience research. As a means of expanding educational opportunities for students, preference is given to topics that are not represented among the current faculty at AU. Three to four "special lecturers" are chosen who approach the problem at different levels of analysis (e.g., molecular, neuroanatomical, physiological, behavioral). These scientists supply the students with reading lists. An AU faculty member facilitates discussion of the assigned papers in the three to four weeks prior to each speaker's arrival. The visiting lecturers are hosted by the students in the seminar. Faculty other than the facilitator(s) will not attend the seminar when the special lecturers lead the class. However, during their visit to campus, the special lecturers will be asked to participate in a colloquium open to all in the university community.

Journal Club

In conjunction with the Behavior, Cognition, and Neuroscience (BCaN) graduate training program, the Center will coordinate a weekly meeting for graduate students and faculty. A different participant each week will select a recent empirical paper for all attendees to read and discuss. For most meetings, papers discussed will investigate the effects of neural or physiological manipulations on measures of behavioral outcomes.