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Newsletter Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
In this issue I would like to focus on communication. As the second year of my three-year term as President nears its end, I have been thinking about the purposes of our Society -- and of scientific professional societies in general. It seems to me that the ISN exists mainly (a) to organize and sponsor periodic international conferences in the field of neuroethology, (b) to encourage cooperation among investigators throughout the world who are studying the neural bases of behavior, and (c) in those and other ways, to advocate for, spread news about, and foster the development and vigor of, this exciting interdisciplinary field. These endeavors boil down to one over-arching mission: to facilitate communication among neuroethologists wherever they may be. That's what scientific societies are mainly about -- engendering connectedness that makes a "society" out of a collection of individual scientists. Toward that goal the ISN has made demonstrable progress. Here I cite four examples of such progress. First, the International Congresses of Neuroethology are well established as splendid world forums for networking and interaction among neuroethologists and exchanging research findings and new ideas. I continue to delight not only in the excellence and success of each of our Congresses but also in the fact that not one negative comment about an ISN Congress has reached my ears! The countdown to the 1998 Congress has begun, and I suppose you are as excited about its prospects as I am. Second, the first in what we expect to be a series of triennial Gordon Research Conferences in Neuroethology will take place in late summer, 1999, in Oxford, UK. The GRC will be a relatively small, discussion-intensive meeting that should complement well our big Congresses. Third, I believe that the ISN's Newsletter grows in quality with each issue, thanks especially to the imaginative and dedicated efforts of its Editor, Art Popper. We want this periodic publication to be valuable to ISN members and to convey interesting and useful information about events and ideas, as well as research groups and their advances, in neuroethology. Finally, the ISN's presence on the Internet clearly has improved timely communication and extended the Society's reach to colleagues who otherwise might not have been able to participate in our affairs. Our Neuroethology Listserv which is maintained as a privilege of ISN membership, has proved to be useful for announcements and inquiries, and the ISN's new Website complements the Newsletter as a vehicle for information about the Society and its activities. It is interesting to note that the Website is now used by a large majority of prospective new members to inquire about joining the Society -- including colleagues in the former Soviet Union who seek to become Special Members of the ISN and for whom the Internet is the most reliable means of international communication. Thus the ISN has several effective means of communication. I strongly encourage you,
the members of the ISN, to take advantage of these channels and forums. Plan to
participate in the 1998 Congress. Use the Listserv to notify the community about job
openings, training opportunities, technical advances, funding mechanisms, and exciting new
findings or problems you are trying to solve. Visit the ISN's Website occasionally and
tell your colleagues about it. And PLEASE submit materials for publication in the
Newsletter to Art Popper or me. Needless to say, if you have comments or suggestions about
how we could improve the ISN's communication mechanisms, we'd be very pleased to hear from
you. John Hildebrand
As has been done for previous Congresses, the ISN will present up to three Young Investigator Awards to young neuroethologists who will participate in the 1998 Congress. To be eligible for an award, an individual must (a) have completed his/her doctoral dissertation and received a doctoral degree in the period 1995-97, (b) have published a paper based on the dissertation research (or have had a paper manuscript accepted for publication) by the time of application, and (c) be committed to attending the 1998 Congress in San Diego. Each awardee will receive a waiver of the Congress fee, a monetary prize of $1,000 (which may be used toward the costs of participating in the Congress), and an invitation to give a short research talk in the program. One of the Plenary-Lecturer slots at the Congress will be devoted to, and shared by, the awardees. Each candidate should submit (five copies of each item) a letter of application, a published paper or manuscript that has been accepted for publication, and his/her Curriculum vitae. In addition, he/she should arrange for letters of recommendation to be sent directly by two scientists who know him/her well. These materials must be received, no later than the deadline date of 1 November 1997, by the President of the ISN: Dr. John G. Hildebrand, ARL Division of Neurobiology, Univ. of Arizona, 1040 E. 4th St., PO Box 210077, Tucson AZ 85721-0077, USA. Applications will be evaluated by a selection committee appointed by the President and the Chair of the Congress Committee. The three top-rated candidates will be notified as soon as possible, and no later than 1 February 1998. All qualified candidates will be encouraged to apply for these awards. Questions may be directed to Dr. Hildebrand via E-mail.
Even as we prepare for the 5th International Congress of Neuroethology in San Diego, California, it is not too early to begin to think about the 6th International Congress, to be held in 2001. As before, the officers of the ISN wish to receive and review proposals for the site and hosting of the 2001 Congress. Suitable proposals will be presented to the ISN members attending the Business Meeting at the 1998 Congress, and one proposal will be selected by balloting at that meeting. The first five International Congresses will have been held in Tokyo (1987), Berlin (1989), Montreal (1992), Cambridge (1995), and San Diego (1998). In order to ensure that the Congress venue moves among the parts of the world with significant numbers of ISN members, proposals from prospective hosts in Japan and Europe would be especially welcome. Written proposals will be due by 1 July 1998 and should be sent to the ISN President: Dr. John G. Hildebrand, ARL Division of Neurobiology, Univ. of Arizona, 1040 E. 4th St., PO Box 210077, Tucson AZ 85721-0077, USA. Requests for additional information may also be directed to him via E-mail. Plans for the 1998 ISN Congress in La Jolla are coming along nicely. There will be 10 Plenary Sessions, one of which will be devoted to talks by the recipients of the Young Investigator Awards. Another is being reserved for a last-minute selection. Eight speakers have been invited for the remaining sessions, and all have accepted. They are: Curtis Bell (USA) - sensory plasticity in electric fish; Robyn Hudson (GER) - olfaction and behaviour; Eric Knudsen (USA) - hearing and spatial orientation in owls; Patricia Kuhl (USA) - development of human brain function; Mike Land (GB) - insect and vertebrate vision; Randolf Menzel (GER) - olfactory learning and memory in bees; Baldimero Olivera (USA) - Conotoxins; Gene Robinson (USA) - social insects In addition, there will be three special lectures to be given on separate evenings: Larry Squire will review his studies of learning and memory in humans and other primates. RŸdiger Wehner will deliver the Walter Heiligenberg Memorial Lecture, a new event at an ISN meeting. RŸdiger will review his discuss the various mechanisms of ant navigation. Ted Bullock will deliver the Founders’ Lecture, another innovation for this meeting. Ted will talk about anything he wants to talk about. There will be 20 Symposia, each with five speakers apiece, on a wide range of exciting topics. The general topics are listed below, along with the names of those folks who have agreed to organize the symposia: (1) New developments in the technology of activity mapping in the brain. Organizers: to be determined; (2) Functional reorganization in the brain. Organizer: M. Merzenich (USA). (3) Neurogenetic approach to neuroethology. Organizers: A Bass (USA) and M. Heisenberg (GER). (4) Neuronal development and the emergence of behavior. Organizers: A. Bekoff (USA) and A. Mercer (NZ). (5) Neural assembly codes for directional behavior. Organizers: B. Newsome (USA) and David Sparks (USA). (6) Sensory integration in central networks. Organizers: P. Meyrand (FRA) and J. Weeks (USA). (7) Neural coding: Temporal aspects and reliability. Organizers M. Egelhaaf (GER) and J. Miller (USA); (8) Modeling of neural systems. Organizer: R. Beer (USA). (9) Locomotory studies and robotics. Organizers: H. Cruse (GER) and R. Kanzaki (JPN). (10) Neuromodulation and behavioral plasticity. Organizers: R. Harris-Warrick (USA) and N. Tublitz (USA). (11) Frequency and time analysis in the auditory system of the echolocating bats. Organizers: E. Covey (USA) and M. Vater (GER). (12) Navigation and its underlying neural mechanism. Organizers: T. Collett (GB) and A. Michelsen (DK). (13) Neuroethology of parasitism and symbiosis. Organizers: D. Robert (CH) and N. Beckage (USA). (14) Neural mechanisms of learning and memory formation. Organizers: T. Carew (USA) and T. Tully (USA). (15) New vistas in the study of insect flight. Organizers: W. Kutsch (GER) and M. Robertson (CAN). (16) New facets in the regulation of insect ecdysis. Organizers: W. Honegger (USA) and D. Morton (USA). (17) Common evolutionary strategies operating in visual systems of vertebrates and invertebrates. Organizers. H. Karten (USA) and N. Strausfeld (USA). (18) Neuroethological adaptations for species-specific behavior. Organizers: J. Hildebrand (USA) and H.-J. Pflueger (GER). (19) Neuroethology of aggressive and defensive behavior. Organizers: E. Kravitz (USA) and R. Huber (AUSTRIA). (20) Segmentation and sensorimotor co-ordination in the brain stem. Organizers: R. Eaton (USA) and J. Fetcho (USA) In addition, at the suggestion of Konrad Wiese, a lecture room will be available
between official sessions at which anyone can give a talk. There will be a sign-up board
in front of the room that will reserve 15 minutes of time for what Konrad calls
"Latest Developments, Still Warm from the Amplifiers." We will also plan a
number of surprises that take advantage of La Jolla’s intellectual and scenic
wonders. A circular will go out at the end of the summer that will bring the plans up to
date. Plan to attend if you possibly can! The ISN Newsletter has been an effective means of communication about our Society and events of interest to our members. However, we are hoping to expand the scope of the Newsletter over the next several issues in order to increase our scientific content in the form of feature articles. Our goal is to have at least one-half of each issue devoted to such material. New features we plan to publish on a more or less regular basis will include anecdotal autobiographies of some of our senior colleagues, descriptions of research groups, thoughts on interesting research questions, small controversies that might lead to discussions on the ISN Listserv, Neuroethological Viewpoints (see below), book reviews, and perhaps even critiques of published papers. Our intent is to accept both solicited and unsolicited material for future Newsletters feature articles. If you would like to submit a piece on your research group, about yourself, or about a research idea, or anything else with a scientific content please contact Art Popper with a (very) brief description of what you have in mind. We have set up a small editorial board which consists of the President, Secretary, Newsletter Editor, and Dr. Robyn Hudson. This group will make decisions about which material will be in each issue and also solicit material when appropriate. Suggestions for feature articles should be sent to Art Popper. Please do not submit full articles of this type without a response from the Editorial Board. Feature articles should be no more than 450 words long. Arthur N. Popper |
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