The Neurophysiology and Experimental Neuroethology Laboratory, under the Direction of Prof. Norberto Garcia-Cairasco, in a joint effort with collaborators, has produced a substantial number of scientific articles in Behavioral, Cellular, Molecular and, more recently, Computational Neuroscience, especially in Epilepsy Research and Neuropsychiatric Comorbidities.
We believe that a successful formula for excellence in Science must contain the right amounts of creative thinking, hard work and sensitivity. That’s why our Lab has stimulated the scientific discussions with great researchers in their fields over 30 years of history.
Our first Meeting took place in 1998 and was a quite regional reunion entitled “Neurociências Integrativas” (Integrative Neurosciences) and counted on the participation of local Scientists and Students to talk about “Physiology in the age of molecular biology”, “Genomics and Neuroinformatics”, “Epilepsy and Neuroscience” and “Visual Arts and Neuroscience”.
Prof. Garcia-Cairasco, motivated by the success of the previous meeting decided to organize it again once every five years. Our second meeting, in 2003, was dedicated to discuss the Neuroscience and Arts connection. Entitled “Neuro-Arte” (Neuro-Art) gathered people from various parts of our country to present both their artistic and academic and scientific points of view in Neuroscience. Bigger in participants than the earlier event, but yet in a national range, this was a “pilot experiment” for what was about to come.
In 2008 and 2013 we decided to embrace a NEW challenge and we organized the “International Symposium NEWroscience 2008: Contemporary Neurosciences, Epilepsies and the Arts” with 9 International Speakers and 4 Brazilians Speakers, and the “International Symposium NEWroscience 2013: Complexity and Comorbities” with 17 International Speakers and 8 Brazilian Speakers. These event culminated in the publication of a Supplement of Epilepsy & Behavior (E&B) with speakers invited reviews concerning their areas of expertise and the Abstracts of works presented as posters. Without losing the link with Visual Arts we accepted Scientific and Neuro-Art posters and the best images were awarded and published also in the E&B Supplement.
This current year the challenge is even bigger! The “International Symposium NEWroscience 2018 - Looking for Epilepsy Cure Along Centuries and Across Cultures - From Demons and Blessings to Brain Complex Networks and DNA Editing”, will count on the participation of International and Brazilian Speakers who will discuss “Controversies and Convergences in the History of Science and the Arts in Neuropsychiatry and the Epilepsies”, “From Connectomes to Multilayered Complex Networks in the Epilepsies and Neuropsychiatric Comorbidities”, “Cell and Molecular Mechanisms of the Epilepsies; “Epilepsy Hijacking Brain Oscillations: a Gradual Corruption from Normal Activity”; “Precision Medicine and Technological Challenges in Neuroscience and Epileptology”; “Epilepsies and Comorbidities: Challenging and Integrating Multiples Levels of Complexity”.
All the Speakers were again invited to write a review article to be published in a Special Issue of te Journal Epilepsy & Behavior together with the approved Abstracts submitted, to be presented as posters.