Conference Description
The Basal Ganglia GRC is a premier, international scientific conference focused on advancing the frontiers of science through the presentation of cutting-edge and unpublished research, prioritizing time for discussion after each talk and fostering informal interactions among scientists of all career stages. The conference program includes a diverse range of speakers and discussion leaders from institutions and organizations worldwide, concentrating on the latest developments in the field. The conference is five days long and held in a remote location to increase the sense of camaraderie and create scientific communities, with lasting collaborations and friendships. In addition to premier talks, the conference has designated time for poster sessions from individuals of all career stages, and afternoon free time and communal meals allow for informal networking opportunities with leaders in the field.
The basal ganglia play a crucial role in motor control and decision-making and are affected in various neurodevelopmental, neurodegenerative, and psychiatric disorders, making a basic understanding of the function of this circuitry highly translationally relevant. The 2026 Basal Ganglia GRC meeting will bring together the world's leading basal ganglia researchers to discuss recent advancements and new insights into the function of basal ganglia circuits in health and disease. The meeting will concentrate on presenting unpublished data. This five-day long conference held in beautiful Tuscany will include a range of speakers and discussion leaders from diverse career stages, institutions, and subfields, with the goal of interdisciplinary discussions linking knowledge about synapses and circuits to higher-level computations. Afternoon free time and communal meals allow for informal networking opportunities, welcoming trainees into the field and fostering lasting collaborations and friendships in our scientific community.
The topics, speakers, and discussion leaders for the conference sessions are displayed below. The conference chair is currently developing their detailed program, which will include the complete meeting schedule, as well as the talk titles for all speakers. The detailed program will be available by October 4, 2025. Please check back for updates.
Keynote Session: Basal Ganglia in Motivational Control and Reward Processing
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Probing Heterogeneity in Basal Ganglia Cell Types and Subcircuits
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Encoding and Decoding Basal Ganglia Neuronal Activity in Behavior
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Motivated Behavior and Non-Motor Basal Ganglia Function
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Roles for Astrocytes in Basal Ganglia Plasticity and Circuit Function
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New Models for Basal Ganglia Function
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Physiology of Basal Ganglia Cell Types In Vivo and Ex Vivo
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Basal Ganglia-Related Disorders
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Neuromodulatory Interactions in the Basal Ganglia
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The GRC Power Hour™
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