On October 22, 2010 I attended the CNS Annual Symposium. The program ran from 10:00AM to 7:00PM, with five speakers, several panel discussions and a poster session. Highlights included:
R. Thomas Zoeller (UMASS Amherst) discussed how polychlorinated byphenyls (PCBs) can disrupt thyroid hormone function. Now banned, PCBs were one commonly used for a variety of industrial purposes, and are present in relatively high levels in some environments. Thyroid hormone is essential for proper brain development and function, and exposure to PCBs can cause lifelong problems.
Andrea C. Gore (University of Texas, Austin) discussed her multi-level work examining the relationship between environmental endocrine disrupters, reproductive physiology and reproductive behavior. Using detailed behavioral analysis, Gore and colleagues found subtle but significant differences in the reproductive behavior and opposite-sex responses, though there were no obvious defects in the treated animals. As with Zoeller’s talk, this illustrates the potential subtle dangers of environmental toxins to brain development and behavior.
Keith W. Kelley (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign) gave a talk on how the immune system can relate to behavior, drawing parallels between sickness behavior and depression behavior. According to Kelley the short answer to the mechanistic relationship between the immune system and behavior “is cytokines.” This hypothesis, if correct, could have a profound impact on our conceptualization and treatment of depression.
More information about the Center for Neuroendocrine Studies can be found here: http://www.umass.edu/cns/index.htm
-Lyndie