09/28/2021

Salzburg (OTS) – As part of the 17th meeting of the Austrian Neuroscience Association (ANA), more than 200 top-class scientists and doctors are discussing top achievements from their research fields for three days (September 28th to 30th) in the Unipark Nonntal. A strong Covid-19 health concept applies. On the program: cutting-edge key lectures, exciting mini-symposia, poster exhibitions and technical workshops. For the first time, the congress will not only open its doors to experts: Have you wondered which secret mechanisms control the functions of your brain? Answers can be found in the lecture “Memory, Brain Vibration and Consciousness”, given by Wolfgang Klimesch, which is open to the public. Motto: Science for everyone!

ANA President Francesco Ferraguti opened the congress, which is supported by the State of Salzburg and the Innovations- und Technologietransfer Salzburg GmbH (ITG). Provincial Councilor Andrea Klambauer and Simone Weiß (ITG), who also personally gave a few greetings and the participants, want to continue to position Salzburg well as an innovation and science location with this support. “I am delighted to be able to welcome so many top-class researchers to Salzburg. The experience of the last year and a half has shown that personal exchange continues to be an important factor in scientific operations, ”said State Councilor Klambauer. Salzburg can be described with three key words: “Small, beautiful and powerful”, says ITG director Weiß.

Furthermore, the rectors Wolfgang Sperl (Paracelsus Medical Private University) and Hendrik Lehnert (University of Salzburg) emphasize the importance of neurosciences in the Salzburg research landscape.

The range of topics at the meeting of neuroscientists is wide. Here is a cross-section:

Affect change in the brain? Luca Bonfanti from the University of Turin will give a lecture on “The search for young neurons in the brain of adult mammals”. He is a pioneer in the field of brain plasticity. Together with Sébastien Couillard-Després, he is currently investigating the importance of these young neurons, particularly in the aging process of the brain and in neurological diseases. Couillard-Després is director of the Institute for Experimental Neuroregeneration at the Paracelsus Medical Private University and, as a board member of the ANA with Isabella Sarto-Jackson, organizer of the meeting. With him, all threads came together in advance. “The discovery of stem cell-based adult neurogenesis 30 years ago showed that new neurons can arise in the rather static brain,” he says. Unimagined neurons have now been discovered that form a kind of “iron reserve” of cells that can later ripen and integrate into neural circuits. The burning question: Can we use it to influence the aging process? These young neurons are a completely new field of research.

From sleep mechanisms to regeneration in the brain. Manuel Schabus from the University of Salzburg and his research group “Sleep, Cognition and Consciousness” research the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders and insomnia. At an interdisciplinary symposium entitled “Explaining Awareness: The Search for Similarities Between Neuroscience and Philosophy”, this field of research will be deepened. In addition, Ludwig Aigner, Vice Rector at the PMU, explains cellular and molecular regeneration processes as well as new pharmacological applications in dementia, Parkinson’s or paraplegic injuries.

High-tech to elementary education. There is also an exchange of experiences about new high-tech solutions in the laboratory. High-resolution optical microscopy is used for cross-scale analysis of nerve tissue. A team of physicists, biologists and neuroscientists develops advanced light microscopy and innovative novel imaging approaches.

Scientific ideas are for innovation in all areas: in addition to a symposium on epilepsy (led by Salzburg neurology director Eugen Trinka), a satellite symposium is dedicated to interfaces with elementary education – top-class with Manfred Spitzer from the University of Ulm or Sigismund Huck from the University of Vienna.

Further information: www.austrian-neuroscience.at

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