Pathological circuit function is at the origin of many symptoms of neurological disorders. The optogenetic toolbox applied to animal models of behavioral diseases has in the last years led to decisive progress with the hope that deep brain stimulation may be used for rational treatments.
OptoDBS 2017 will discuss the state of the art of current therapies for DBS and ask how a better understanding of neural circuit dysfunction in pathology could inspire novel protocols. A particular emphasis will be on novel DBS indications such as obsessive compulsive disorders (OCD), depression or addiction. Cutting-edge optogenetic presentations will interleave with clinical studies from leading experts.
This meeting will give credit for two days of continuing education for responsibles of animal experiments and experimentalists by the Swiss Association of Cantonal Veterinaries (approval pending).
As a conference venue we have been able to secure Campus Biotech, the home of the Wyss Center as well as many neuroscience groups of EPFL and Unige. The building is conveniently located within walking distance of the historic center of the city, on the right bank of Lake Geneva, and only 15 minutes from the airport.
We are extremely thankful to the sponsors for their generous support, which has allowed us to have a program with a line-up of distinguished invited speakers. In addition, slots remain available for talks selected from the abstracts.
Students and post-docs are invited to apply for travel awards, again made available by our sponsors.
Looking forward to seeing you soon in Geneva.
Christian Lüscher and Paul Krack