The RIKEN Center for Developmental Bilology (CDB) was established in April 2000 in Kobe, Japan to promote research into the fundamental mechanisms of animal development and regeneration. To keep pace with advances and identify future directions in these rapidly evolving fields, in 2003 the CDB inaugurated a program of annual symposia covering diverse aspects of developmental biology and regeneration, and aimed at promoting the free and timely exchange of research achievements.

The sixth CDB symposium is entitled “Turning a Neuron into a Nervous System”.
The neurons are the units of a functional hierarchical organization that allow the nervous system to interpret sensation, produce responses, behaviours and higher order mental processes. However to understand the function of the nervous system we can turn to the father of neurology, Ramon y Cajal. His view that developmental neurobiological studies allow insights into the adult nervous system, is summed up by his statement “since the full grown forest turns out to be impenetrable and indefinable, why not revert to the study of the young wood, in the nursery stage”.

In this symposium we explore:

• the hierarchical organization of neurons and how this organization comes about
• how connections are made between nerve cells
• how the developing nervous system removes redundant neurons
• how activity is important in modifying the neural circuits established during development
• how the mature nervous system generates new neurons

We encourage the submission of abstracts from scientists, increasing the opportunity for lively and informative exchange of views. In addition to the invited speakers, a number of poster submissions will be selected for short talks giving a forum for presenting the latest and most exciting research. A limited number of travel fellowships aimed at graduate students and post-docs traveling to Japan are available.

We look forward to welcoming you to the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology, Kobe, Japan.