Elsevier,The Boulevard, Langford Lane, © IBRO VOLUME 34 2006

Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1GB, UK

www.ibro.info International Brain Research Organization

IBRO THE ‘DYNAMIC
FEDERATION’!
From 2 Affiliated Organizations to 82!
The incorporation over the last year into IBRO’s
Governing Council of eight neuroscience
institutions has brought the number of IBRO
Affiliated Organizations to 82.The new members
are: the Sociedad Mexicana de Neurociencias y
Neurobiologia; the Sociedad Chilena de
Neurociencia; the Colegio Colombiano de
Neurociencias; the Association pour la Promotion
des Neurosciences (APRONES; Congo); the Royal
Swedish Academy of Sciences; the Society for
Neurosciences for Serbia and Montenegro; the
Slovak Society for Neuroscience; and the United
Arab Emirates Neuroscience Group.
All are Corporate Members of IBRO, except for
the Swedish Academy of Sciences, which is an
Academic Member.The Affiliated Organizations
form part of IBRO’s Governing Council, which
determines the policies and programmes of IBRO
and directs their implementation and conduct.
The first two institutions to become Affiliated
Associations of IBRO in 1972 were the Swiss
Society for Neuroscience and the US National
Academy of Sciences.The number of
organizations joining has risen steadily since then
(see graph).There were 54 Affiliated Associations
in 2001, after which came a dramatic rise in 2000-
3 when a record number of 12 institutions joined
in 2003.The incorporation of 28 institutions into
IBRO between 2001 and 2006 reflects the ever-
growing effectiveness of and respect for IBRO's
aims in neuroscience.
IBRO President Albert Aguayo aptly referred to
IBRO as a ‘Dynamic Federation’; former IBRO
President Torsten Wiesel called it ‘an organization
of the 21st century’.
PRIORITY FOR NEW SECRETARY-GENERAL:
INCREASED SUPPORT FOR
YOUNG SCIENTISTS
Marina Bentivoglio, Professor of Histology, Faculty
of Medicine, University of Verona, Italy, is to be
the next Secretary-General of IBRO. Her three-
year term of office begins in January 2007. She
succeeds Jennifer Lund, who has been Secretary-
General for the past three years.
Prof. Bentivoglio was a member of the Governing
Council of IBRO (1999-2004); she is now a
member of IBRO Publications Committee, the
Committee on Neuroscience History and chair
of the Libraries Committee. She has been a
lecturer in many IBRO/SONA training courses in
neuroscience since 2000 (Petersburg, South
Africa, September 2000; Rabat, Morocco, April
2002 and March 2005, Nairobi, Kenya, September
2002; Cape Town, South Africa, September 2003;
Nairobi, Kenya, December 2003 and December
2005; Bamako, Mali, July 2005). She has been
counsellor of the Rita Levi Montalcini Foundation
for the Education of African Women since 2003.
IBRO founded the Levi Montalcini Fellowships for
African Women Scientists in 2001.
“I have always firmly believed that building up a
strong neuroscience community represents a high
priority worldwide, in terms of knowledge to be
acquired, education and training, discoveries that
still require an enormous effort for their
implementation and which can exert a high
impact on society,” says Prof. Bentivoglio. “I have
greeted with great pleasure the switch of IBRO
actions in support to countries that need help.
Working ‘in the field’ as lecturer in training
courses throughout the African continent, I have
found an extraordinary interest, motivation, talent
and enthusiasm in young students living in
developing countries.We cannot and we should
not ignore this richness, we do need this richness,
we should work for it.
“In terms of my work program as Secretary-
General, support for young scientists will, of
course, be a priority, as it is now in all IBRO
activities. I wish to point out, however, that the
effort in training and communication must now
be translated into concrete actions to build up
Marina Bentivoglio
active neuroscience centers in those countries in
which economical and political problems
represent a great obstacle. It is now time to put
theory into practice.We should follow up our
students, fight against the brain drain from
countries whose young people seek employment
abroad.We need to make sure that neuroscience
centers are decently equipped and become
operant everywhere in the world”.
Marina Bentivoglio (2nd from left, seated) and
colleagues, 11th ISN-IBRO Africa Region Neuroscience
School, 10-17 December 2005, Nairobi, Kenya
The Levi Montalcini Foundation is committed to
the education of African girls and young women,
based on the strong belief that women can play a
key role in the future of the African continent.
IBRO AND THE
MIDDLE EAST:
A NEW INITIATIVE
IBRO is eager to develop a new initiative aimed at
working with colleagues in the Middle East to
help strengthen neuroscience in the region.The
initiative was implemented by providing support
for an International Neuroscience Conference in
Al Ain, United Arab Emirates in November 2005,
an IBRO Visiting Lecture Team course held in
Irbid, Jordan in June this year, and an IBRO
Associate School in Tehran, Iran in August. In
December this year another school is planned in
Al Ain-Dubai, UAE.
These activities were supported by IBRO through
the joint efforts of the IBRO Asia-Pacific (APRC)
and African (ARC) Regional Committees and the
local IBRO Affiliated Organizations. As a result of
the Middle East initiative, a new organization of
neuroscientists in the UAE was created earlier in
the year: the United Arab Emirates Neuroscience
Group, which became an Affiliated Organization
of IBRO in June.
Medical Faculty with local sponsors, International
Neuroscience Conference, Al Ain
IBRO President Albert Aguayo has travelled
widely in the Middle East in an attempt to
establish collaborations and support more
activities in the region. Prof. Aguayo is convinced
that the creation of Regional Neuroscience
Schools would provide unique opportunities for
young students and investigators to foster
collaboration between themselves and to have
exposure to scientists from leading institutions
elsewhere.The launch of the schools would be a
step towards the overall effort to reinforce and
develop medical science.

IBRO Supports
7TH IBRO WORLD
Conference in United
CONGRESS OF
Arab Emirates
NEUROSCIENCE
IBRO’s Symposia & Workshops Programme
Congress with a Difference!
ARE YOU ELIGIBLE helped fund a conference Research Strategies and
Clinical Challenges in Neuroscience held in Al
With just nine months to go,
FOR FREE JOURNAL preparations are in full swing for the
Ain, United Arab Emirates, November 26-29,
2005. Prof.Valsa Eapen, Fac. of Medicine and
ACCESS? IBRO Congress, which takes place in
Melbourne, Australia, July 12-17, 2007.
Health Sciences, UAE University, Al Ain,
Conference Chair, reports: “531 delegates from
See page 8. Eight plenary lectures and 64 symposia
48 countries participated in the conference and
will form the major scientific components of the Programme.There will also be workshops in the
256 delegates attended the pre-conference
evenings on topics of wider interest that will be open to the general public. In addition, at least
workshop.There were 25 international speakers.
16 specialist satellite meetings will be held in the days before or after the Congress.
The deadline for abstracts is 31 January 2007.
“The conference helped strengthen our existing
IN THIS ISSUE Some outstanding features: Peter Agre, Nobel Laureate for Chemistry (2003,) has accepted the
invitation to deliver a Plenary lecture. An international exhibition Neuroscapes 2006 will be held
collaborative links with leading international
centers and helped to foster new initiatives in the
Funding concurrent with the meeting.There will be patient-advocacy-based special interest forums that field of neuroscience in the region and abroad.
will be open to the general public as well as conference delegates.There will be an opportunity Some examples of such collaborative
Research Fellows for late-breaking and thematically suitable abstracts to be included in symposia (one per research efforts:
Alumni symposium at the discretion of the chair). Parkinson’s Disease: Dr Omar El-Agnaf (UAE)
with Prof. Matthew Farrer (Mayo Clinic, USA), Dr
IBRO is preparing a series of events destined to facilitate the travel of Alumni to the Congress
News and Events and also to maximize their scientific experience by providing opportunities for visiting Australian
Hilal Lashuel (Switzerland) and Dr Nasser Zawia
(Rhode Island, USA).
The Regions laboratories while there.
Alzheimer’s Disease: Prof. Abdu Adem (UAE) with
Neuroscience Schools CONGRESS WEB SITE: http://www.ibro2007.org Cont. page 8

1
 IBRO’S FUNDING PROGRAMMES
2006-2007
FELLOWSHIPS & TRAVEL GRANTS
SYMPOSIA & WORKSHOPS FUNDED IN 2006
Chair: Kwok-Fai So Chile: 13th International Symposium on Chromaffin Cell Biology (January 2006)
India: From Molecules to Networks and Behaviour (January 2006)
All applications to be submitted on-line Chile: Regulation and function of free intracellular Ca 2+ and intercellular Ca 2+ waves (January 2006)
Brazil: I Latin-American School on Computational Neuroscience (LASCON’06) (Jan 2006)
via the IBRO web site www.ibro.info USA: 2nd International Meeting on Physiology and Pharmacology of Temperature Regulation (March 2006)
Chile: Cellular and Molecular mechanisms of neuronal vesicle dynamics (March 2006-06-22)
IBRO Research Fellowships: The IBRO Fellowship Programme aims to foster quality neuroscience Argentina: Corticostriatal Systems and Neuropsychiatric Disorders (March 2006)
especially in the less developed and less well-funded countries. It welcomes high-quality scientists (under Argentina: VIII Argentine Workshop in Neuroscience (April 2006)
the age of 45) from diverse geographic and scientific areas wishing to broaden the scope of their Germany: Cerebral Ischemia and Stroke (May 2006)
training in neuroscience by working one month to one year abroad in good laboratories (US/Canada Uganda: Certificate Course in Neuroscience (May 2006)
Region excluded).The funding for a 12-month fellowship is Euros 33,300. An "Outstanding IBRO Brazil: III International Symposium on Myosin V - International Training Course: Proteins as
Fellowship" of an additional Euros 4,200 will be awarded to the distinguished candidate. Cellular Nanomachines: Molecular Motors, Channels & Pumps (May 2006)
Japan: Fifth International Workshop on Brain Connectivity (May)
IBRO Travel Grants: IBRO offers Travel Grants for high-quality neuroscientists especially from the Italy: Monitoring Molecules in Neuroscience (May 2006)
less-developed and less well-funded countries to present their findings at international neuroscience Italy: 4th FMRI analysis with AFNI and SUMA course (June 2006)
meetings (US/Canada Region excluded). Funding for travel will be up to Euros 1,250 per award. Vietnam: EEG and electrophysiological recording techniques (June 2006)
Applications for Travel Grants for six-month period: Sweden: The Legacy of Golgi and Cajal (June 2006)
• July-December 2007: Deadline March 1, 2007 Russia: Hippocampus and Memory (June 2006)
• January-June 2008: Deadline September 1, 2007 Venezuela: 4th Caribbean Neurobiology Course "Restoring Brain Functions” (June-July 2006)
• July-December 2008: Deadline March 1, 2008 Nigeria: Environment and the Developing Brain (July 2006)
Cuba: Summer Course in Cognitive Neuroscience (Aug-Sept 2006)
John G. Nicholls Fellowship: The John G. Nicholls IBRO Fellowship of Euros 33,300 aims to assist Belgium: 11th European Drosophila Neurobiology Conference (Sept 2006)
one promising researcher younger than 30 years of age who wishes to further his/her training in Israel: Intracellular Recordings In-vivo (Sept 2006)
neuroscience at a distinguished foreign laboratory for one year.The successful candidate is expected to Peru: International diploma course on neuroscience (Sept-Oct 2006)
return to his/her home country after the training, bringing new knowledge and skills in the Russia: Simpler Nervous Systems (Sept 2006)
neurosciences. Candidates should at the time of application reside in one of the 18 countries where the Serbia: Imaging in Neurosciences and Beyond (Sept 2006)
IBRO Visiting Lecture Team Programme (VLTP) has been held: Asia Pacific: China, India, Malaysia, Brazil: 14th International Summer School in Behavioural Neurogenetics (Nov-Dec 2006)
Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam; Africa: Nigeria; Central/Eastern Europe: Bulgaria, Iran and Poland; Latin
America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela (US/Canada Region
excluded). IBRO FUNDING AWARDS 2006-2007
IBRO Studentships: IBRO’s new initiative offers five Studentships (2008) of Euros 8,340 per award to RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS Neuroadaptations Group, Max Planck Institute of
Africa Region Psychiatry, Munich, Germany (Almeida, Osborne)
support students from the less developed and less well-funded countries to take up projects of up to
six months, contributing towards their degree (PhD, MPhil, or even BSc) in good overseas laboratories Amin, Daniel (Buea, Cameroon): Host laboratory Dept TRAVEL GRANTS JANUARY-JUNE 2006
with facilities and training not available in their home countries (US/Canada Region excluded). of Neuroscience, Division of Neurodegenerative Disease Asia Pacific Region
Research, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden Loeliger, Michelle (Australia): Paediatric Academic
(Kristensson, Krister) Societies’ Annual Mtg, San Francisco, CA, USA
SfN/IBRO International Travel Fellowships: The Society for Neuroscience offers Travel Fellowships
of up to Euros 1,250 each for neuroscientists under the age of 35 from the less developed and less Asia Pacific Region Nayagam, David (Australia): 29th Annual Mtg
Machaalani, Rita (Sydney, Australia): Host laboratory Association for Research in Otolaryngology, Baltimore, MD, USA
well-funded countries of the five IBRO regions (Africa, Asian/Pacific, Central and Eastern Europe, Latin
Joseph Fourier University, University Hospital of Fu, Qingling (China): Assn for Research in Vision and
America,Western Europe). Complementary registration is waived for successful candidates (SfN/IBRO
Grenoble, France (Dematteis, Maurice) Ophthalmology, Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA
ITF & IBRO TG) attending SfN 2007.Those candidates under the age of 35 years of age who wish to Noudoost, Behrad (Tehran, Iran): Host laboratory Li, Suk-Yee (China): Assn for Research in Vision and
attend SfN 2007 should apply for the SfN/IBRO International Travel Fellowship.Those above the age of Neurobiology Department; School of Medicine, Stanford Ophthalmology, Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA
35 should apply for the IBRO Travel Grant. Note that this fellowship is not available to candidates from University, Stanford, CA, USA (Moore,Tirin) Anand, Akshay (India): 58th Annual Mtg American
US/Canada Region to attend SfN Annual Meetings. Central & Eastern Europe Region Academy of Neurology, San Diego, CA, USA Kumar, Anil
Petrovic, Milos (Belgrade, Serbia Montenegro): Host (India): 17th Annual Mtg American Neuropsychiatric
Regional Funding: Most of IBRO's funding is channelled to the membership via programmes managed laboratory Institute of Physiology AS CR, Prague, Czech Association, La Jolla, CA, USA
by the Regional Committees. Republic (Vyklicky Jr., Ladislav) Central & Eastern European Region
Samarova, Elena (Moscow, Russia): Host laboratory, Korzh, Oleksii (Ukraine):World Parkinson Congress in
Dept of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada Washington, DC, USA

SYMPOSIA AND WORKSHOPS Latin America Region

Abudara,Veronica (Montevideo, Uruguay): Host
laboratory INSERM U114, Collège de France 11, Paris,
Chair: Ken Muller France (Giaume, Christian)
Alfonso, Julieta (San Martin, Argentina): Host
IBRO invites requests for partial funding of Symposia and Workshops on important topics in laboratory Dept of Clinical Neurobiology,
neuroscience with the aim of encouraging neuroscience research and scholarship in regions of Interdisciplinary Center for Neuroscience/ University of
the world with limited funds for science. Participants should represent the international Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany (Monyer, Hannah)
neuroscience community as well as regional interests. Meetings should have a clear focus on a Western Europe Region
particular topic. Preference will be given to activities that include younger scientists and offer Cohen Kadosh, Roi (Beer-Sheva, Israel): Host
training for scientists from countries in which little money is available for research or teaching. laboratory Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience & Dept
of Psychology, University College London, London, UK
(Walsh,Vincent)
Applicants are encouraged to include a component available publicly on the web that could
involve participant discussion either before or after a regular symposium or workshop. Such Lerner,Yulia (Rehovot, Irael): Host laboratory Neural
Science & Psychology, New York University, New York,
discussions might, for example, include opportunities for students and others to ask questions,
NY, USA (Rubin, Nava)
make suggestions and provide relevant information.
JOHN G. NICHOLLS FELLOWSHIP
Symposia should deal with topics of key interest, specialized or broad, with background talks to Panizzutti, Rogerio (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil): Host
help those unfamiliar with the material, as well as accounts of current research. laboratory, Dept. of Otolaryngology, UCSF, San Francisco,
CA, USA (Merzenich, Michael)
Workshops are more technical and practical in orientation. A major portion of the programme IBRO INTERNATIONAL STUDENTSHIPS
should involve discussion, practical teaching of techniques and the presentation of concepts and Africa Region
controls necessary for experimental work.Workshops that bring useful techniques and donate Gatome, Catherine (Nairobi, Kenya): Host laboratory,
Anatomisches Institut, Abteilung Neuroanatomie &
permanent equipment to less funded countries are encouraged.
Verhalten, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Deadlines for receiving proposals are 1 February and 1 September of each year. Asia Pacific Region
Khan, Adil (Bangalore, India): Host laboratory Cold
Spring Harbor Laboratories, Cold Spring Harbor, NY,
USA (Mainen, Zachary)
Moshayedi, Pouria (Tehran, Iran): Host laboratory
PENS: PROGRAMME FOR EUROPEAN Dept of Neurological Surgery,The Neuroscience
Program,The Miami Project, University of Miami Miller
NEUROSCIENCE SCHOOLS School of Medicine, Miami, FLA, USA
For information about the joint FENS/IBRO Central & Eastern Europe Region
Ghazaryan, Astghik (Yerevan, Armenia): Host
funding venture: laboratory Department of Molecular and Cellular
Neurobiology & Evolution, Nencki Institute of
http://mars.glia.mdc-berlin.de/pens/ Experimental Biology,Warsaw, Poland
Latin America Region
Kusuda, Ricardo (Sao Paulo, Brazil): Host laboratory,
See page 8
Dept of Anatomy & Neuroscience, Hyogo College of
Medicine, Hyogo, Japan (Noguchi, Koichi)
Western Europe Region
Kokras, Nikolaos (Athens, Greece) Host laboratory,
Latin American Region
Gomez Casati, Maria Eugenia (Argentina): 29th
Annual Mtg Association for Research in Otolaryngology,
Baltimore, MD, USA
Contin, Maria Ana (Argentina): Assn for Research in
Vision and Ophthalmology , Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA
Ramos, Alberto (Argentina): 4th Int’l Symposium on
Neuroprotection and Neurorepair, Magdeburg, Germany
Boccia, Mariano Martin (Argentina):Winter
Conference of Learning and Memory, Park City, UT, USA
de Araujo, Draulio (Brazil): 12th Annual Mtg Organization
for Human Brain Mapping in Florence, Italy
Canto-Pereira, Luiz Henrique (Brazil): 6th Annual
Mtg Vision Sciences Society, Sarasota, FL, USA
Montoya, Arquimedes (Cuba): 58th Annual Mtg
American Academy of Neurology, San Diego, CA, USA
Serrano,Teresa (Cuba): Int’l Conference on Monitoring
Molecules in Neuroscience, Cagliari, Italy
Western Europe Region
Bekinschtein,Tristan (Argentina): 10th Annual Mtg
Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness,
Oxford, UK
Sallagundala, Nagaraja (India): 2nd Intl Mtg on
Physiology and Pharmacology of Temperature Regulation,
Phoenix, AR, USA
Cohen Kadosh, Roi (Israel): Annual Mtg of the
Cognitive Neuroscience Society, San Francisco,
California, USA Reznichenko, Lydia (Israel):World
Parkinson Congress,Washington, DC, USA
IBRO TRAVEL GRANTS JULY-DECEMBER 2006
Africa Region
Nyatia, Edward (Kampala, Uganda): SfN 2006,Atlanta, GA, USA
Moftah, Marie (Alexandria, Egypt): FENS 2006,Vienna,Austria
Wahab, Kolawole (Ilorin, Nigeria): Joint World
Congress on Stroke, Cape Town, South Africa
Fakoya, Francis (Ile-Ife, Nigeria): ISDN, Banff, Canada
Asia Pacific Region
Liang,Yu-Xiang (Hong Kong, China): SfN 2006,Atlanta, GA, USA
Ma, Sherie (Melbourne,Australia): FENS 2006,Vienna,Austria
Shankaranarayana Rao (Bangalore, India): SfN 2006,
Atlanta, GE, USA
Khan, Adil (Bangalore, India): FENS 2006,Vienna, Austria
Bajestan, Sepideh (Kagoshima, Japan): Int’l Congress of
Neuropsychiatry, Sydney, Australia
Singh, Jaspreet (Jalandhar, India): SfN 2006,Atlanta, GA, USA
Cont. page 3

2
 OUR RESEARCH FELLOWS
ARGENTINIAN
RESEARCHER NAMED
IBRO OUTSTANDING
FELLOW 2007
Julieta Alfonso from San
Martin, Argentina, was
nominated Outstanding
Fellow out of the nine
young researchers
awarded IBRO Research
Fellowships for 2007.
Julieta, who works at
the Instituto de
Investigaciones
Biotecnologicas,
Universidad de San
Martin, Argentina, will
Outstanding Fellow be taking her fellowship
Julieta Alfonso to the Dept. of Clinical
Neurobiology,
Interdisciplinary Center for Neuroscience/University
of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany, where she
will be working with Dr Hannah Monyer. She has
been working at Dr A.C. Frasch’s laboratory since
1997.Their project has involved the study of the
molecular and cellular processes that take place
during chronic stress in the mammalian brain. It
has long been known that prolonged exposure to
adverse situations can have important
consequences for the brain, conferring
susceptibility to psychiatric disorders such as
human depression.The hippocampal formation
possesses a remarkable degree of plasticity and is
particularly sensitive to stress.
CHINESE FELLOW
FROM CHINA
REPORTS FROM
THE US
Bin Liu, Assistant Professor,
Center for New Drugs
Evaluation, School of Pharmacy,
Shandong University, Shandong,
China, won an IBRO Research
Fellowship to work from March
2005 in the Department of
Anatomy at Northeastern Ohio
Universities College of Medicine.
She arrived in the US in March
2005 and worked in Dr Dean
Dluzen’s laboratory, Northeastern
Ohio Universities College of
Medicine (NEOUCOM), where
she focused on observing the
effects of gonadal steroid
hormones against neurotoxins
which target the nigrostriatal
dopaminergic system of rodents.
By October 2005 she completed
two first-author papers.
Two abstracts based on the
papers were presented at the SfN
Meeting in November 2005,
Washington, DC.
Research Fellow Bin Liu
2006-2007
BRAZILIAN NEUROSCIENTIST WINS JOHN G. NICHOLLS FELLOWSHIP
Rogerio Panizzutti, a Brazilian neuroscientist was awarded the IBRO John G. Nicholls Fellowship for 2007.The
Fellowship aims each year to assist a promising researcher under 30 who wishes to further their neuroscience
training at a distinguished foreign laboratory for one year. A molecular neurobiologist, Dr Panizzutti’s research is
focused on brain neurochemistry linked to schizophrenia. He will be working with Dr Michael Merzenich the
Dept. of Otolaryngology, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, USA.The Merzenich group is elaborating a brain plasticity-
based training strategy designed to prevent the disease onset in prodromal and at-risk individuals, and to
ameliorate its symptoms in patients. Dr Panizzutti describes his research so far:
“I graduated as a Medical Doctor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in 1999. In 2004 I finished
my PhD in Biochemistry at the same university. For six months of the PhD I joined the neuroimage
group of the Novartis Institute of Biomedical Research in Basel, Switzerland. Just after my PhD I was
appointed assistant professor at the Biomedical Sciences Institute of Federal University of Rio de
Janeiro, where I am starting a new research group working on the biological basis of neuropsychiatric
diseases. I received the Young Talent in Science Award sponsored by GE Healthcare in 2004 and the
2005 Young Latin American Scholars Award from the American Society for Neurochemistry.
“I have been studying the neurobiological role of D-serine, an endogenous D-amino acid that occurs at John G. Nicholls Fellow Rogerio Panizzutti
high levels in the central nervous system. Several lines of evidence indicate that D-serine is an
endogenous modulator of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. As an endogenous co-agonist of NMDA receptors, D-serine may play a role in
several pathological conditions related to NMDA receptor dysfunction. Mammalian serine racemase, an enzyme enriched in cerebral cortex, which
converts L- to D-serine, has been purified and cloned.
“I focused my attention on identifying factors that regulate serine racemase and D-serine signaling.We found that Mg2+ and ATP are physiological
ligands of serine racemase and they are able to increase the production of D-serine several folds.These cofactors elicit another function of the
enzyme, a considerable pyruvate generation by direct deamination of L-serine. Since pyruvate and its metabolites are exported from astrocytes to
neurons, serine racemase production of pyruvate may play a role in glial-neuronal communication. I joined the neuroimage group of the Novartis
Institute of Biomedical Research in Basel, Switzerland. Studying the effect of D-serine administration in rats, we found that D-serine elicited a relevant
activation in the hippocampus. Since D-serine acts specifically in NMDA receptors and the hippocampus is a region rich in these receptors, this result
shows that co-agonists can increase the activity of NMDA receptors in this region. In this way the site could not be fully activated. Hippocampus is
related to learning and memory processes and the co-agonist site of NMDA receptors can be a target to improving these process.”
Cont from page 2
TWO AFRICAN WOMEN SCIENTISTS RECEIVE Central & Eastern Europe Region
LEVI MONTALCINI FELLOWSHIPS Firsov, Michael (St. Petersburg, Russia): 5th
INMED/TINS Conference, La Ciotat, France
In 2001, with a generous donation from the Levi at Kinshasa University Hospital and both the
Janzsó, Gergely (Budapest, Hungary): FENS 2006,Vienna,Austria
Wittner, Lucia (Budapest, Hungary): FENS 2006,Vienna,Austria
Montalcini Foundation, IBRO created two Rita
Levi Montalcini fellowships for women
Department of Paediatrics and the Centre for
International Health, University of Bergen.
Dravolina, Olga (St. Petersburg, Russia): ECNP, Paris, France
Fedorovich, Sergei (Minsk, Belarus): ISN Special
neuroscientists from Africa. Rita Levi Montalcini, Neurochemistry Conference on Neural Glycomics and
winner of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physiology or In September 2006, as an IBRO Levi Montalcini Lipidomics, Antigua & Barbuda
Medicine for her discovery of the nerve growth fellow, she will be investigating the effects of Jelitai, Márta (Budapest, Hungary): ISDN, Banff, Canada
factor, established with her artist sister Paola the atomoxetine in an animal model for ADHD in Latin America Region
Levi Montalcini Foundation in 1992.Through the collaboration with Professor Vivienne Russell at López-Costa, Juan (Buenos Aires, Argentina): SfN
IBRO fellowships Dr Montalcini wishes to the University of Cape Town, South Africa. 2006, Atlanta, GA, USA
support education in Africa and is particularly Rotstein, Nora (Bahia Blanca, Argentina): Summer Eye
interested in the advancement of African women. Dr Maharaj will be taking up her fellowship in Research Conference, Fort Myers, FL, USA
Delorenzi, Alejandro (Buenos Aires, Argentina):
The fellowships are awarded to 1) a researcher February 2007 with Prof. B. D. Glass, Chair of
for a two-year training period at a university Pharmac, James Cook University, Australia, where
ICOM-4, International Conference on Memory, Sydney,Australia
Caviedes, Pablo (Santiago, Chile): SfN 2006,Atlanta, GA, USA
abroad; 2) a researcher to spend two years at an she will investigate the role of melatonin and Fidelio, Gerardo (Cordoba, Argentina):VI
African university, not in her own country. Vitamin D in sun protection and Iberoamerican Congress of Biophysics, Madrid, Spain
neurodegenerative disorders. Morelli, Laura (Buenos Aires, Argentina): 10th
This year’s fellowships for 2006 have been International Conference on Alzheimer`s Diseases and
awarded to Esperance Kashala, Kinshasa Related Disorders, Madrid, Spain
University Hospital, Kinshasa, DR Congo and Resstel, Leonardo (Ribeirão Preto, Brazil): FENS 2006,Vienna,Austria
Deepa Sukhdev Maharaj, Rhodes University, Western Europe Region
Grahamstown, South Africa.The fellowships last Herrero,Anabel (Madrid, Spain): FENS 2006,Vienna,Austria
for two years. Slamberova, Romana (Prague, Czech Republic): SfN
2006, Atlanta, GA, USA
Tordera, Rosa (Pamplona, Spain): FENS 2006,Vienna,Austria
Ang, Eng Tat (Fribourg, Switzerland): SfN 2006,Atlanta, GA, USA
Montero-Pedrazuela,Ana (Madrid, Spain): FENS 2006,Vienna,Austria
Franklin,Tamara (Zurich, Switzerland): FENS 2006,Vienna,Austria
SFN INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL FELLOWSHIPS 2006
Asia Pacific Region
Wang, Pei-Yu (New Zealand)
Deepa Sukhdev Maharaj Taylor, Juliet (Melbourne, Australia)
Benakareddy, Madhurima (Mumbai, India)
She says: “Like many other idealistic young
Joo,Yuyoung (Seoul, Korea)
students I am attracted to science in part because
of the hope that science could improve life for all Central & Eastern Europe Region
Borhegyine Holderith, Noemi (Budapest, Hungary)
human beings. I have become increasingly
troubled by the unequal access to science and
Salozhin, Sergey (Moscow, Russia)
Biro, Agota (Budapest, Hungary)
technology in Africa and the complex implications
Latin America Region
of scientific advancement for society (human
Funchal, Claudia (Porto Alegre-RS, Brazil)
cloning, biopiracy, genetic engineering, and
Salvador, Gabriela (Bahia Blanca, Argentina)
bioterrorism issues). On an international scale Fonseca, Cristina Guatimosim (Belo Horizonte, Brazil)
Esperance Kashala one cannot fail to be concerned with the growing Oliva, Carolina (Valparaiso, Chile)
disparity between the benefits of science and
Dr Kashala is a specialist in neuropsychiatry from Western Europe Region
technology to citizens of the first world as Martinez de Lagran, Maria (Barcelona, Spain)
the Department of Neurology (Centre Neuro-
compared with those of the third world. I hope Brambilla, Paolo (Udine, Italy)
Psychopathologique) at Kinshasa University
that by receiving the scholarship and returning to Bernacer Maria, Javier (Madrid, Spain)
Hospital. Her work involves in- and out-patient
Africa with my new found knowledge I can make Cebrian, Carolina (Pamplona, Spain)
care of neurologic and psychiatric patients, clinical
a difference albeit a small one. I also am very NIDA/IBRO TRAVEL FELLOWSHIPS 2006
training and teaching of undergraduate medical
aware of the cultural biases and difficulties faced
students on neurological and psychiatric issues. In Awards to attend the NIDA mini-convention, 'Frontiers
by women in Africa and other cultures where in Addiction Research', satellite meeting of SfN 2006,
November 2005, she defended her PhD thesis at
expectations regarding women's roles in the Atlanta, GA, USA
the University of Bergen, Norway. Her research
workforce and the home can be more narrowly Gelazonia, Lia, I. (Tbilisi, Georgia)
was on mental health of African schoolchildren in
circumscribed.” De Luca, Maria Antonietta, (Cagliari, Italy)
Kinshasa, DR Congo, with a particular focus on
attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder The SfN provided complimentary registration for its 2006
(ADHD).This research was conducted in meeting to all 15 SfN/IBRO International Travel Fellowship
recipients, to the eight recipients of IBRO Travel Grants, and
collaboration with the Department of Neurology
the two recipients of the NIDA/IBRO Travel Fellowship.
3

WESTERN EUROPE
REGIONAL COMMITTEE
HAS NEW CHAIR
Monica Di Luca, Dept. of Pharmacology,
University of Milan, Italy, was elected as the new
Chair of IBRO’s Western European Regional
Committee (WERC).
IBRO would like to thank Gaetano di Chiara for
the work he has done for the Western Europe
Region whilst in the role of WERC Chair.
Monica Di Luca
MOVING FROM
‘BRAIN DRAIN’ TO
‘BRAIN GAIN’
IBRO’s Return Home Programme (RHP) enables
young researchers from less developed countries
who have studied neuroscience in advanced
research centres to return home to continue
brain research.The programme is currently
aimed at scientists who have worked abroad
while receiving IBRO Fellowships, travel grants
or other IBRO-related stipends.The Return
Home Programme expects to award one-time
grants of approximately US$15,000.
On-line applications were under way in June.
Chair: F. H. Lopes da Silva.
DETAILS OF ALL IBRO
PROGRAMMES CAN
BE FOUND AT
WWW.IBRO.INFO
NEW CHAIR FOR
TRAINING PROGRAMMES
REGISTRY
Laurence Garey (Switzerland) was elected new
Chair of IBRO’s International Registry of
Neuroscience Training Programmes Committee
(IRNTP).The IRNTP’s aim is to provide on the
IBRO web site a comprehensive listing of
neuroscience training programmes operating
worldwide. National and regional neuroscience
societies and federations are invited to work with
IBRO to establish national web-based registries
based on their own requirements and resources.
To facilitate international access and consistency,
the local listings include details that conform as
closely as possible to guidelines issued by IBRO, in
agreement with IBRO’s Affiliated Organizations.
The creation and maintenance of the Registry will
help define and make better known training
possibilities worldwide.
Register now! If you would like your institution
to be listed, please forward the information to:
The IBRO International Registry of Neuroscience
Training Programmes
(stephanie.delarochefoucauld@ibro.info). All
submissions will also be made available to the
appropriate national Neuroscience Society in
your region.
4
IN THE NEWS
NEUROSCIENCE NEWS AND EVENTS
NEW PAGES FOR NEUROSCIENCE HISTORY SERIES
Histories of IBRO’s Affiliated Organizations
A new section tracing the origins of the IBRO’s 82 Affiliated Organizations has been added to the Neuroscience History pages of the IBRO web site.
This is an initiative of Javier De Felipe, Chair of IBRO’s Committee on Neuroscience History and creator of the Neuroscience History section.The first five
histories to be published on the web were the Israel Society for Neuroscience (ISFN), the Spanish Society for Neuroscience (SENC) and the Swiss Society
for Neuroscience (SSN), the Sociedad Chilena de Neurociencia (SCN), and the Italian Society for Neuroscience (Società Italiana di Neuroscienze, SINS).
IBRO’s Affiliated Organizations are invited to write a brief history of their societies with information of how they were formed and any other relevant
information (images, documents).Texts may be sent to Dr De Felipe at defelipe@cajal.csic.es.
Distinguished Neuroscientists Interviews
This new section in the web’s Neuroscience History series aims to satisfy our curiosity about the thoughts of prestigious neuroscientists and the
philosophy behind their science. Scientists so far interviewed: Masao Ito,Vernon B. Mountcastle, Floyd E. Bloom.
OUR JOURNAL NEUROSCIENCE: LATEST! NEW ELECTRONIC
As all readers of Neuroscience will have experienced, the Journal has undergone a transformation over SYSTEM SUPPORTS
the past few years. Most obvious are the changes in layout and physical appearance. But these changes IBRO PROGRAMMES
should not eclipse the deeper and more fundamental restructuring of the Journal, which has involved
introduction of web-based submission and streamlining of the reviewing and editorial handling of On-line management systems are in full swing for
submitted manuscripts.The modernization of the Journal has coincided with a sharp increase in the our Neuroscience Schools, Funding and Alumni
authors’ approval rating as pointed out in our recent Editorial (Neuroscience 137:1, 2005). Programmes and under way for others. On-line
systems facilitate each stage of a programme; for
The 2006 mid-year report on the status of Neuroscience has now been compiled and we are glad to schools, from applications for school hosting,
conclude that the positive trends seem to continue.The Journal saw a large increase in the influx of management of students, faculty, school
new papers following the move to web-based submission late 2003. In the first five months of 2006 the programmes, to the collection and maintenance
Editorial Office received 674 new submissions. Extrapolating through December 2006, this would result of learning resources and preparation of school
in 1618 submissions for the whole year, compared with less than 1000 submissions in 2003 and 1603 in reports. Alumni are able to communicate with
2005.To avoid a backlog of articles we now have to apply even higher-quality standards than before, each other via a dedicated web site.
implying that a smaller proportion of the submitted papers will be accepted for publication.We trust
that this will be understood and accepted as a natural consequence of the development of the journal.
To cope with the large volume of submissions, the staff at the Editorial/Production office in San Diego Neuroscapes
has now been increased.
Exhibition To Visit
There is also a positive development in the response time to authors.Thus the average ‘time to first
decision’ is down to 32 days in the first quarter of 2006 – a substantial improvement on the 61 days
IBRO Congress
recorded for 2003, prior to the deployment of e-submission.The aim is to process the manuscripts An exhibition entitled Neuroscapes 2006 had its
international launch in Barcelona, Spain on April
even faster so that the time to first decision will be less than 30 days by the end of 2006. Swift handling
6, 2006 at the Cajal Centenary Conference on
of manuscripts is considered as a key to the continued success of the journal and depends on the
the Cerebral Cortex (April 25-29), held at the
concerted efforts of reviewers and editors alike. CosmoCaixa Science Museum in Barcelona. 433
images from 62 laboratories around the world
As important elements of the restructuring of the Journal it was decided in 2003 to introduce Review were submitted to Neuroscapes for
Articles and Special Issues.The last few months have seen the publication of three Special Issues: consideration in the section The Untouched
Quantitative Neuroanatomy in November 2005, Neuroactive Steroids in March 2006, and Working Nervous System.The winning image was by
Memory in April 2006. In addition, commissioned for 2007 publication is a special issue on DNA Repair Tamily Weissman and Jeff Lichtman (Harvard
and Genome Instability in the CNS.The Reviews and Special Issues are expected to increase further the University, USA).The Exhibition will be displayed
at the IBRO World Congress of Neuroscience,
visibility of the Journal and – eventually – its impact factor.We do hope that you will continue to
Melbourne in July 2007.
support Neuroscience and IBRO by submitting your best work to our Journal.
Ole Petter Ottersen
Chief Editor, Neuroscience
Table of Contents for each issue of Neuroscience are e-mailed to all IBRO members.
WINNER OF NEUROSCIENCE JOURNAL
COVER COMPETITION ANNOUNCED
The winning image of IBRO’s annual AFNI (http://afni.nimh.nih.gov/afni/).The 3-
Neuroscience cover competition for 2005 is dimensional isosurface was then formulated
The winner
the cover for Vol. 137, Issue 2, 2005, which
forms part of the article by Steve P.
using Paraview (www.paraview.org).The
overlay of functional brain activity was
McGaraughty et al., ‘Mapping brain activity generated and registered to the high-
following administration of a nicotinic resolution brain scan (again using AFNI) and
acetylcholine receptor agonist, ABT-594, using imported into Paraview for placement within
IBRO’S Science
functional magnetic resonance imaging in the brain isosurface.The ‘floor’ of the cover Advisory Board
awake rats’. Dr McGaraughty described the image represented one of our figures from
research and image relating to the the Neuroscience paper.The GNU Image Can Review
Neuroscience article: Manipulation Program (www.gimp.org) was
used to combine the multiple layers as well as
Your Institute!
“Our laboratory is dedicated to using imaging achieve ‘floor’ warping and alpha-blending.” IBRO Science Advisory Programme (ISAP)
techniques, including fMRI, in order to develop provides expert advisory boards to review
and advance our understanding of novel As in previous years, the cover competition neuroscience institutions around the
therapeutics for disorders of the nervous winner is entitled to choose USD1000 of world.The ISAP recognizes that informed
system.This project was initially conceived books from Elsevier Science, publisher of peer review is one of the most effective
and implemented by a handful of Abbott Neuroscience. systems for setting standards of excellence
principal scientists and over a three year in the scientific establishment and provides
period has blossomed into a full-fledged a resource that is scarce in the
Experimental Imaging group.This paper international neuroscience community.
represented the first publication from our Institutions seeking reviews are invited to
group and is significant for its use of awake- apply to the ISAP. Information can be found
habituated animals in a functional imaging on the IBRO web site. Or contact ISAP
protocol. It is this latter point that we Chair Walter Stuehmer
attempted to convey in the cover image. (wstuehm@gwdg.de).
In the cover image itself, the brain isosurface
was created from a high-resolution scan of a
rat's brain that was manually segmented using
The winning cover

ALUMNI ... BOOK FUND ... BRAIN CAMPAIGN ... BRAIN AWARENESS WEEK
IBRO ALUMNI NOW
TOTAL 2000
The Alumni Programme has seen much success,
with 2000 IBRO Alumni worldwide and a site
dedicated exclusively to them (http://alumni.ibro.info).
Several very successful international gatherings
have taken place and a good number of books
have been distributed. Some of the school
chapters have elected their representatives and
the Alumni themselves have spearheaded very
interesting scientific and friendly interactions
between young people from different countries
and regions.
IN THE NEWS
Success Story for Egyptian Neuropharmacologist
Wael Mohamed Yousef works as an assistant lecturer of neuropharmacology at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Menoufiya, Egypt.
He relates his experiences at IBRO Neuroscience Schools and his future plans for PhD studies in the USA.
“I attended the 10th IBRO/Fogarty Neuroscience School, Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Bamako-Mali,West Africa in July
2005. It was a very fruitful and valuable experience for me to meet colleagues and professors in the field of neuroscience
worldwide.There I met Professor Raj Kalaria (Chair, IBRO African Regional Committee). I discussed with Prof. Kalaria how to
promote neurosciences in Egypt. I suggested organizing an IBRO school in Egypt, which of course required a specialized
organization in Egypt. Hence, as soon as I came back to Egypt from Mali, I met my neuroscience colleagues and established the
Egyptian Society for Basic Neurosciences, of which I am Secretary General. I then applied for the ISN-IBRO African Advanced
Neuroscience School, Behavioral Neuroscience, Nairobi, Kenya, in December 2005.There I met Professor Byron C. Jones,
Professor of Biobehavioral Health and Pharmacology, Co-Director, Interdepartment Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Penn
State University, USA. I asked if he would supervise my PhD at the Neuroscience Institute of the Huck Institutes of the Life
Sciences at Penn State as I had been awarded a scholarship from the Egyptian government to study my PhD in
neuropharmacology outside Egypt. He accepted and I received an offer from Penn State to register for the neuroscience program for my PhD. Wael Yousef
“I intend to travel to the USA in August 2006, where I shall stay for five years to complete my PhD.
In March this year our Egyptian Society for Basic Neurosciences organized a successful Brain Awareness Week including three modules: 1) Secondary school
students; 2. Public awareness; 3) Undergraduate medical students and nursing staff.
“From the free scholarship awarded to me from the Egyptian government I hope I can learn more advanced techniques in the neuroscience field and work on
the development of new drugs needed for many patients suffering from neurological diseases. In Egypt basic neurosciences are not well developed, so I hope
after my return I can work with my other colleagues, both basic and clinical neuroscientists, for the advancement of research in this field.”

IBRO's Brain Campaign Offers Funding for Neuroscience Events

Susan Sara
As the programme grows, so the demands for
coordination and support from IBRO increase. An
ad-hoc IBRO Alumni Committee has been set up.
The Committee Chair is Dr Susan Sara,
Laboratory of Neuromodulation and Cognitive
Processes, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris,
France.The Committee will be represented on
the IBRO School Board by its Chair and will work
in close association with the Library, Equipment
and Return Home Programmes.
for Public Understanding of the Brain
IBRO's Brain Campaign offers funding to neuroscientists around the world to organize educational
events to increase public awareness of the brain.The funding covers both Brain Awareness Week
events and activities the year round. Public education events about the brain can take many forms:
public lectures, debates or film shows on brain-related issues, or hands-on opportunities to get to
know the brain and participate in experiments. http://www.braincampaign.org
Neuroscience: Science of the Brain is a public education booklet for young students originally
published by the British Neuroscience Association in 2004.The book is ideal for those with little
previous knowledge of the brain and is a wonderfully neat and concise 'primer' of neuroscience,
touching on everything from development to drug addiction.
IBRO’s Public Education Committee now own the copyright to the booklet and is eager to translate
it into many languages. It is at present available electronically in English, Mandarin and Spanish and
the Committee has found people to translate the booklet into Arabic, Bengali, Hindi, Portuguese,
Romanian, Russian, Swahili and Ukrainian. It still requires translation into French, Japanese and Polish.
The Committee would appreciate hearing from anyone interested.

67 COUNTRIES JOIN Nigerian Alumni

BOOK FUND DELIVERS BOOKS TO IN BRAIN AWARENESS Describes Long Road
THOSE IN NEED WEEK 2006 to Research
Since its creation in 2003 IBRO’s Book Fund, via the Regional Committees, has delivered many
In March this year a record number of Dr James O. Olopade, Dept. of Veterinary
books to IBRO schools and individual institutes and libraries around the world: 30 copies of
neuroscience labs, institutes, and individual Anatomy, University of Ibadan, Nigeria and IBRO
Zigmond’s Fundamental Neuroscience to Uruguay; 176 copies of Nicholls’ From Neuron to Brain
neuroscientists took part in highly successful Alumni, delivered a lecture at a Young
to Russia and China.The Human Frontier Science Program donated 1000 books to IBRO
BAW events around the world. Public awareness Veterinarians’ Research Foundation (YVRF)
neuroscience schools (Coincidence Detection in the Nervous System,Vision and Movement
of the brain is the main aim of BAW.This year seminar, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University
Mechanisms in the Cerebral Cortex, Central Synapses, Brain and Mind, Cell Surface
neuroethics was the key theme, with scientists of Ibadan in August 2005. He talked about the
Proteoglycans in Signalling & Development, Regulation of Sleep, Axis Formation in Vertebrate
not only connecting with the public in terms of influences on his neuroscience career. He was
Embryos, and Neuroenergetics).
brain research, but also focusing on the legal, able to attend SONA conference, Abuja, Nigeria
ethical and philosophical questions raised by in 2003 where he met neuroscience
Under the direction in 2005 of Kathleen Whitlock (USA) and John Ewer (USA) the Book Fund
advances in neuroscience. From Switzerland to ‘heavyweights’, including Willie Daniels, Albert
was offered Sinauer Press’s 2nd editions of Purves’ Neuroscience and Nelson’s Behavioral
Uganda, Nigeria to Hungary, people all over Aguayo, Roger Butterworth. Dr Olopade also
Endocrinology;Taylor & Francis donated 2nd and 1st editions of Bruce Alberts’ Molecular Biology
the world were captivated by the wonders of attended a one-week intensive course, the IBRO
of the Cell and Essential Cell Biology. By the end of 2005 Chairs of IBRO Regional Committees
the brain. African Neuroscience School at Grahamstown,
and IBRO course organizers requested 198 copies of Neuroscience, 73 copies of An Introduction
South Africa (2004), where again he met with
to Behavioral Endocrinology, 134 copies of Molecular Biology of the Cell, and 180 copies of
distinguished neuroscientists.There he met
Essential Cell Biology.These books were destined for 20 recipients in Africa, South and Central
Sharon Juliano, who sent him books and other
America, India, Europe, and Russia, including IBRO schools and individual institutes and libraries.
materials after the school. After Grahamstown he
The Grass Foundation provided the cost of shipping. All books have now reached
had the opportunity to attend another IBRO
their destinations.
Neuroscience School combined with a SONA
Conference in Cape Town (2005).
For information about requesting scientific books, please contact John Ewer (je24@cornell.edu)
or Kathleen Whitlock (kew13@cornell.edu).
Dr Olopade informed the audience that he
started his research in neuroscience with much
difficulty.There were no mentors in the field to
guide him; he learned through trial and error and
LIBRARIES COMMITTEE ALLOCATES FREE faced serious financial strain. His current research
focuses on levels of metals in the brain of goats in
ELECTRONIC SUBSCRIPTIONS Nigeria and to see if it could be a suitable model
for assessing the impact of environmental toxicity
The Neuroscience Libraries Committee (Chair Marina Bentivoglio) works closely with the of metals in the brain of humans. He is
HINARI Project (see p. 8) to allocate free electronic institutional subscriptions. Essential collaborating with James Connor of Penn State
requirements for the electronic subscriptions - direct contact with the institution through a BAW 2006 Ile-Ife, Nigeria: Prof. Polycarp Nwoha University (whom he met at the last SONA
librarian, fast internet connection, identification of the IP number of the institution (left; Institute of Neuroscience and Biomedical Conference and IBRO African Neuroscience
computer/server - are difficult to meet in some countries. Over the last year messages were sent Research, Owerri, Nigeria) shares a joke over a School that he attended), an expert on iron in
to 92 IBRO alumni from 23 countries requesting the e-mail address of the librarian responsible question asked by a high-school student: “If I eat the brain.
for books and journals in their respective institutions. From this five institutions were identified the brain of a pig, would it make my brain grow
as eligible for electronic subscriptions; their data have been forwarded to HINARI. In bigger and I become more intelligent?” In closing, Dr Olopade, proudly wearing his IBRO
collaboration with the Book Fund, books were donated to 10 institutions.The Committee Alumni cap, was full of appreciation for the help
Brain Awareness Week is an international effort
remain confident that they will be able to contact many more institutions in the future. IBRO and SONA had been to his research life. He
organized by the Dana Alliance for Brain
Initiatives to advance public awareness about the said the challenges of doing neuroscience in
Contact Marina Bentivoglio (marina.bentivoglio@univr.it) for information. Nigeria, as in most parts of Africa, are the result a
progress and benefits of brain research.
morbid fear of the brain which he attributed to
http://www.dana.org/brainweek/ the low quality teaching at undergraduate level.

5
 CONTINUED EXPANSION IN IBRO’S REGIONS
NEUROSCIENCE ACTIVITIES 2005-2006
AFRICAN REGIONAL COMMITTEE: IBRO
schools supported by the ARC continue to be our ‘tour
de force.’ Since July 2005, ARC has organized four
schools and plans one more in December 2006: 10th
IBRO Africa and Fogarty International Centre (NIH)-
sponsored Neuroscience School held 22-27 July, 2005 in
Bamako, Mali for the first time; 11th IBRO Africa School,
Behavioural Neuroscience, held in Nairobi, 10–18
December, 2005; 12th IBRO Africa and IACSN-NAC
School, Neural Basis of Behaviour, 1-9 July, 2006, Cape
Town, South Africa; 13th IBRO Africa School, Infectious
Diseases of the Brain, 1-6 September, 2006 in Kinshasa
(DRC) jointly organized by the ARC and the
Clinical/Basic Neuroscience Links Committee (chair G.
Maestre).The 14th IBRO Africa School,
Neurodegeneration and Regeneration, co-sponsored by
the ISN will take place 8-13 December, 2006 in Rabat
(Morocco).
Other highlights in 2005 ARC: 1st International
Neuroscience Conference in United Arab Emirates
(UAE), 25-29 November, 2005. ARC Chair represented
IBRO with Y. S. Chan (APRC) at this first ever conference
in the Middle East. SONA members were also present in
Al Ain and Dubai among the 100 delegates and also
participated in pre-conference teaching sessions on
neurodegeneration and dementia. IBRO schools alumni
Drs Albert Akpalu (Ghana) and Angelina Kakooza-
Mwesige (Uganda) were guests of the American Epilepsy
Society Fellows to visit the USA in December 2005.The
ARC facilitated election of two Rita Levi Montalcini
Foundation Fellows, who are IBRO alumni Esperance
Kashala (DRC) and Deepa Maharaj (South Africa; SA).
Dr Kashala will work with Prof. Russell at the University
of Cape Town and Dr Maharaj will work with . Glass at
James Cook University, Australia.
We boast two regional activities: 1st International
Neuroscience Conference, 26-29 May, 2006, Algiers,
Algeria, organized by Ghazi Ayad and Latifa Mamine-
Dorbani; and INBR 2006 Congress in Owerri, Nigeria,
10-13 July, 2006 on Environment and the Brain.This was
organized by Dr Polycarp Nwoha and colleagues. In
December, ARC and SONA members will support and
participate in the 2nd Mediterranean Conference of
Neurosciences in Marrakech, Morocco.This ‘crossroads’
conference will be held 13-15 December, 2006.
Major ARC future activities include SONA 2007; our
biennial international conference of African
Neuroscience, 26-29 April, 2007 in Kinshasa, DRC, which
will be convened by T. Kayembe Kalula (DRC; President
of SONA) and P. Luabeya (DRC, Belgium).We also plan
to send a strong African contingent to the IBRO World
Congress 2007 in Melbourne, Australia.
Nilesh Patel (Kenya; Sec-General SONA) continues to be
invaluable by leading the IBRO Africa Schools programme
and managing the Secretariat in Nairobi. Marina
Bentivoglio (Italy), Roger Butterworth (Canada) and
Howard Cooper (France) still travel with us and help as
international advisors. Several members of the ARC and
SONA have responsibilities on other IBRO committees:
Wail Benjelloun (Morocco; Membership); Pierre Luabeya
(DRC; Clinical-Basic Neuroscience Links and Neuro-
grants Committees); Santy Daya (SA; Schools and
Alumni); Nouria Lakhdar-Ghazal (Morocco; Symposia and
Workshops Committee); Mohammed Erammi (Morocco;
Nominations);Vivienne Russell (SA, IRNTP).
In April this year APRONES (Association pour la
Promotion des Neurosciences of Congo) became an
IBRO member. Six African organizations are now
represented on IBRO’s Governing Council: Society of
Neuroscientists of Africa (SONA), Moroccan Association
of Neuroscience (MAN) Southern African Neuroscience
Society (SANS), Kenyan Society for Neuroscience (KSN),
Nigerian Society for Neuroscience (NSN) and
APRONES. ARC encourages groups in Cameroon,
Senegal and Egypt to seek IBRO membership.
We are ever grateful to our generous sponsors and
partners including several learned societies, universities,
charities and commercial organizations. Once again I take
this opportunity to say asante sana, merci and shukran to
the ARC rafikis including co-opted members, valuable
International Advisors, who have volunteered their time
and resources.
Prof R. N. Kalaria
Chair, ARC
ASIAN PACIFIC REGIONAL COMMITTEE:
The APRC is divided into two groups: Group A: China,
Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Philippines,Taiwan,Thailand,
Vietnam. Group B: Australia, Bahrain, India, Indonesia,
Iran, Jordan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Singapore,
Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates.
Associate Schools: Each five-day Associate School
accommodates 32–40 students. Each consists of
lectures, group discussion (with computer search for
relevant articles). Students are MBBS, MSc and year-1
PhD students.
Group A: i) 4th Associate School (Xi’an, China): April 5-
9, 2006 (Organizer: Prof. Liang-Wei Chen, Fourth Military
Medical University).
6
Group B: i) 5th Associate School (Singapore):
June 26-30, 2006. Co-sponsored by International Society
for Neurochemistry (c/o Prof. Kazuhiro Ikenaka,
President, Asian-Pacific Society of
Neurochemistry)(Organizer: Prof. Peter T. H.Wong,
National University of Singapore). ii) 6th Associate
School (Tehran, Iran): August 26-30, 2006 (Organizer:
Prof. Fereshteh Motamedi, Shaheed Besheti University of
Medical Sciences).
Schools: Each two-week School accommodates 25
students for lectures, tutorials and well-defined
laboratory projects. Students are senior PhD students
and postdocs, with adequate exposure in at least one
research technique.They are expected to acquire
knowledge of both theoretical and technological
advances in key areas of neuroscience research.
Group A: i) 7th IBRO School of Neuroscience (Hong
Kong): Nov. 28–Dec. 10, 2005). (Organizers: Prof.Wing-
Ho Yung, Chinese University of Hong Kong; Prof,Ying-
Shing, Univ of Hong Kong; Prof. Ken KL Yung, Hong Kong
Baptist University).
7th IBRO School of Neuroscience, Hong Kong
ii) 9th IBRO School of Neuroscience (Hong Kong): Nov.
30–Dec. 13, 2006) (Organizers: Prof.Wing-Ho Yung,
Chinese University of Hong Kong; Prof. Ken KL Yung,
Hong Kong Baptist University).
Group B: i) 6th IBRO School of Neuroscience
(Bangalore, India): Aug. 8-20, 2005 (Organizer: Dr Shona
Chattarji, National Centre for Biological Sciences). ii) 8th
IBRO School of Neuroscience (Mumbai, India): Sept
1–15, 2006 (Organizer: Dr Shubha Tole,Tata Institute of
Fundamental Research).
Advanced School: Lectures, seminars and problem-
based learning on design of research projects. Small
student-teacher ratio caters for in-depth interaction.
Provides additional intellectual exposure to senior
postdoc and junior faculties with good research training
and publication records. Preference given to IBRO alumni
of previous two-week Schools.To be held in Wako, Japan,
mid-Jan 2007. (Organizer: Prof Hitoshi Okamoto, RIKEN
Brain Research Institute).
RIKEN Summer Program 2006: Upon
recommendation of the Program Coordinator in RIKEN,
travel support will be offered to three participants from
our region.
Exchange Fellowship Scheme: Sponsors young
neuroscientists (less than 40 years old from the APRC)
to spend six months in a host laboratory within our
region. All awardees to provide strong justification that
they would return to home country after the exchange.
APRC Travel Grants: Regular aims: 1) Individual basis.
2) Support Workshop/Symposium in disadvantaged areas.
Additional Plans in 2006: For students and young
scientists to attend the 4th FAONS Congress (Nov
30–Dec 2, 2006; Hong Kong).
Ying-Shing Chan
Chair, APRC
CENTRAL & EASTERN EUROPE
REGIONAL COMMITTEE: In 2005 four schools
were supported by CEERC: the annual Summer School
(lectures and practicals) in July in Debrecen, Hungary,
Synaptic Transmission and Plasticity: Presynaptic and
Postsynaptic Mechanisms, organized by Miklos Antal; a
school on Behavioral Neurogenetics in Moscow, Russia
(September), organized by Pierre Mormede; a practical
school on Confocal Microscopy in Belgrade (September)
by Pavle Andjus; and a School on Development and
Plasticity of the Human Cerebral Cortex (October)
held in Zadar and Zagreb, Croatia, organized by
Ivica Kostovic.
In 2006 CEERC also provided 19 stipends for the FENS
Forum to representatives of 12 countries of the Region.
Research awards within the region were given to R.
Averkin (Ukraine) for work in Russia (Moscow) in 2006
and to M. Balcerzyk (Poland) for a short-term visit to
Ukraine (Kiev). A new CEERC initiative, IBRO Lecturers’
Visits to the Region, resulted in one award for a visit by
Prof. H. Atwood (Canada) to Kazan (Russia).
In 2006 the following events were sponsored by the
CEERC: (1) International IBRO Workshop, Regulatory
Mechanisms of Synaptic Transmission in the Central
Nervous System, Budapest, Hungary, January 26-28, 2006.
Organized by the Hungarian IBRO Committee,
Neuroscience Laboratories, Hungarian Academy of
Sciences and Semmelweis University Postgraduate
School. Neuroscience Program Organizing Committee:
M. Palkovits (President). (2) Workshop: Neurophysiology
of Primary Visual Cortex and Perception, St. Petersburg,
Russia, August 16-20, 2006. (3) International Workshop:
Hippocampus and Memory, Puschino, Russia, June 25-29,
2006. (4) Second Near-East Workshop-Symposium:
Animal Issues in Scientific Research,Tbilisi, Georgia, June
19-20, 2006. (5) 2nd Second International Conference of
the National Neuroscience Society of Romania,
Neuronal Excitability: From Molecular Level to System.
Bucharest, Romania, September 1-3, 2006.Organizer:
Prof. Leon Zagrean, Dept. of Physiology, University of
Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania. (6)
European Behavioural Pharmacology Society Workshop:
Neurodegeneration: Basic Mechanisms of Motor and
Cognitive Dysfunctions, Kraków, Poland, September 2-4,
2006. (7) International Congress: Molecular Basis of
Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders, Martin, Slovak
Republic, September 6-10, 2006. (6) VIII East European
Regional International Conference of the International
Society for Invertebrate Neurobiology, Kazan, Russia,
September 13-17, 2006.
IBRO Workshop,Tbilisi, Georgia: Animal Issues
in Scientific Research
The second near-east international
symposium/workshop on Animal Issues in Scientific
Research was held in Tbilisi, Georgia (June 19-20,
2006), It was organized by the Animals in Research
Committee of IBRO (Chair Prof. Sharon Juliano), the
Georgian Neuroscience Association and the
Beritashvili Institute of Physiology. Fifteen participants
from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey, and 40 host
fellows attended.Three faculty gave lectures, principal
coordinator of this workshop Prof. Kris Turlejsky
(Nencky Institute of Experimental Biology, Poland),
Dr Anne-D. Degryse (Association for Assessment &
Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care - AAALAC,
Centre de Recherche Pierre Fabre, Castres, France),
and Prof. Sarah L. Pallas (Georgia State University,
Atlanta, USA). Lectures were devoted to many
aspects of animal care and use in experimentation
covering, particularly, housing standards for
laboratory animals, how to prepare an animal
protocol, quality systems for animal care and use
Participants at the Tbilisi Workshop
programmes, relations between biomedical
investigators and the public, and others.
The importance of this topic was emphasized to the
countries of the region. On the last evening
participants visited the old capital of Georgia,
Mtskheta, and enjoyed a farewell party.
Merab Tsagareli
President, Georgian Neuroscience Association
The Committee evaluates most of the proposals
electronically, thus collecting the applications all year
around and providing the applicants with fast decisions.
In addition, once a year CEERC meets in various
countries throughout the region (Budapest, Hungary,
2004; Sofia, Bulgaria 2004; Kiev, Ukraine 2005;Vienna,
Austria; 2006) to discuss strategic issues and applications
that are submitted at that time.
Pavel Balaban
Chair, CEERC
Latin America Regional Committee: The Education
Committee of LARC supported several training
neuroscience programmes:
1. Neuroscience Schools: Funded by IBRO-LARC and
from the Canadian Government through the Institute of
Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction (INMHA).
INMHA has guaranteed additional support for LARC’s
IBRO schools for the years 2006 and 2007. In addition
IBRO obtained support from the Fogarty International
Centre (NIH, USA). Also all academic activities promoted
and supported by LARC were co-financed by local
institutions and foundations (universities, research
institutes, national research councils, and millennium
projects), as well as by international agencies (UNESCO,
IPICS, Committee for Aid and Education in
Neurochemistry (CAEN of ISN),The Royal Society,
CONICET).
In 2006, LARC-IBRO sponsored four Neuroscience
Schools: 1) I Latin American School on Computational
Neuroscience (LASCON 2006), Ribeirão Preto, São
Paulo, Brazil, January 15-28, 2006. Director: Dr Antonio
Carlos Roque. 2) XI Latin American Neuroscience
School, Santiago and Valparaiso, May 1-20, 2006, Chile.
Financed by LARC and the Canadian Institute of
Neurosciences, Mental Health and Drug Addition
(INMHA). Director: Dr. Fernando Torrealba. 3) 2nd IBRO
School of Neuroscience in Maracaibo (4th Caribbean
Neurobiology Course), Maracaibo,Venezuela, June 30-July
9, 2006. Directors: Gladys Maestre MD, PhD and
Gregory Quirk PhD. 4) III Neuroscience School:
Neurons and Glial Cells: Life, Death and Resurrection,
Buenos Aires, Argentina, September 18-October 6, 2006.
Fogarty International financed the school with
LARC/IBRO. Director: Dr Juana M. Pasquini.
2. Regional Graduate Courses: LARC offered up to
U$5000 for each of 12 specialized training courses in the
region, one call for each semester. During the last call,
we supported the approved proposals with smaller
amounts to support a large number of candidates.We
sponsored eight courses in the region during the first
semester (evaluated during the second semester of the
previous year) and seven in the second semester, due to
take place in the latter part of 2006.
3. Regional Exchange: Twelve Latin American young
neuroscientists were supported for short lab visits in the
first semester of 2006. A stipulation of the funding was
that the graduate students travel to another country
within the LARC to do experiments or learn techniques
not available in their country of origin.These
experimental procedures were important for the
completion of their dissertations. For this year we
advertised for 24 new fellowships: 12 were approved in
the first call and 12 more for the second semester of
2006.This exchange has been very important for intra-
regional cooperation among neuroscientists.
4. Special Programme: LARC proposes to establish
links with Latin American neuroscience societies to
facilitate scientific communication and researcher
exchange in the region. Latin America is the only one of
the IBRO regions that lacks such an organization. Dr
Omar Macadar (Uruguay) was designated to contact the
different scientific organizations and societies from Latin
America, Spain and Portugal. At least 10 countries
accepted the invitation to meet in Brazil, August 23-27,
2006, during the FESBE (Federacao de Sociedades de
Biologia Experimental) annual congress.
5. LARC Partially Supported Events: (1) IV National
Meeting/International Neuroscience Symposium
(Encuentro Nacional/V Seminario Internacional de
Neurociencias), Medellin, Colombia, November 16-19,
2005. (2) National Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology
Course, Medellin, Colombia, October 31-November 16,
2005. (3) Neurobiology: From Molecules to Higher
Functions and Disease, Cusco, Peru, November 11-15,
2005. An intensive lecture and discussion course for
students from universities and medical schools in Peru.
(4) The first Brain Awareness (BAW) celebration in the
Dominican Republic.
Marta Hallak,
Chair, LARC
IAC-USNC (US/CANADA REGIONAL
COMMITTEE): The Society for Neuroscience,
National Academy of Sciences, National Institutes of
Health, IBRO and representatives of the Canadian
Association for Neuroscience (CAN) and the Canadian
Institute of Neuroscience, Mental Health and Addiction
(INMHA) worked through the IAC-USNC over the past
year to provide support for a number of activities to
further IBRO’s objectives.
Travel Fellowships: For 15 students from less-
developed countries to present an abstract at the 2006
SfN Annual Meeting in Atlanta, GA, 2006. SfN awarded
travel fellowships to 15 students nominated by SfN
regional North American chapters to attend and present
their work FENS 2006,Vienna, Austria, July.
International On-Site Teaching Activity: IAC-USNC
sponsored a course, Neural Systems: From Channels to
Circuits, in Cape Town, South Africa, July 1-9, 2006,
modeled on the Neural Systems and Behavior MBL
summer course,Woods Hole, MA, USA. Support for the
course is also provided by IBRO’s African Regional
Committee, NIH (National Institute of Mental Health,
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke,
National Institute on Drug Abuse), Grass Foundation,
Corte Instruments, Carl Zeiss Inc. and John H. Haines, MD.
Web-Based Neuroscience Lectures:
Via www.iac-usnc.org the committee continues to work
on a seminar and neuroscience methods series to bring
up-to-date neuroscience information to researchers in
less-developed countries.Web-based neuroscience
lectures are accessible by scientists worldwide and
feature narrated data slides by prominent neuroscientists
from the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the
SfN. Latest feature on the site: Neurobiology of Disease
Workshop: Protein Misfolding as a Common Pathway in
the Dementias and Other Neurodegenerative Diseases
featured at the 2004 SfN Meeting, San Diego, CA. In
collaboration with the SfN Education Committee, the
IAC-USNC is preparing the two Short Courses and the
Neurobiology of Disease Workshop from the 2005 SfN
Meeting,Washington, DC.
IBRO North American Schools: Once again in 2006,
the committee worked directly with IBRO’s Board of
Schools and MBL to identify and encourage highly
qualified and motivated research trainees from less
developed countries to register for MBL neuroscience
summer courses at the MBL in Woods Hole, MA. Last
year the program was expanded to the Cold Spring
Cont. page 7
 EDUCATION & TRAINING
IBRO will have supported more than 28 neuroscience schools between mid-2005 and the end of 2006.The schools are organized
by IBRO's Regional Committees and PENS (Programmes for European Neuroscience Schools).The Visiting Lecture Team Programme
(VLTP) (Director U. J. McMahan) runs experiment-based lecture courses covering topics in basic neuroscience.The lecture team is
made up of members internationally recognized for their excellence as experimentalists and teachers.
LARC-US/Canada RC Joint School:
Brain-Environment Interactions,
Maracaibo,Venezuela, July 1-11, 2005:
The Latin American Regional Committee and the
joint International Affairs Committee of the
Society for Neuroscience/US National Academies
US National Committee of IBRO (IAC-USNC)
organized a two-week neuroscience school in
LARC-US/Canada School, Venuela
Venezuela for students in South and Central
America.The course used environmental impact
as a way of presenting development, plasticity,
molecular biology, and clinical themes. 25 students
came from Columbia, Costa Rica, Guatemala,
Peru,Venezuela and Puerto Rico.The first week of
the course was held at the University of Zulia,
Maracaibo, and focused on neuroanatomy,
neurophysiology, and cell-cell signaling.The second
week was held at the University of Merida,
located in the Venezuelan Andes, and focused on
plasticity, behaviour and neurodegenerative
diseases. A lab component had students doing rt-
PCR and in-vivo microdialysis in rats. Scientific
ethics as well as basic survival skills for young
neuroscientists were also discussed.The course
concluded with oral presentations by each
student and a written essay.
10th Fogarty-IBRO Africa Region
Neuroscience School, University of
Bamako, Mali, 23-28 July, 2005: 40 students
from 16 African countries attended the school,
organized by Prof. Moussa Traoré and members of
the IBRO African Regional Committee (ARC) at
the Mandé resort in the Cité du Niger, west Bamako.
Alumni President Marième Soda Diop and
Secretary Rufus Akinyemi
The majority of the students were less than 40,
had a medical science background involving some
neuroscience work, and were highly
recommended by their heads of departments.The
international teaching faculty was recruited from
PROGRAMMES 2005-2006
Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, Kenya, Mali, Senegal,
Sweden, USA and UK. The curriculum focused on
disease-orientated updates in neurological lesion
localization, neurodegeneration, dementia,
epilepsy, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, neurotoxicity,
visual neurology, selected infectious diseases of
the CNS and malnutrition and the brain. Students
presented short communications on: epilepsy,
stroke, epidemiology of neurology, fronto-
temporal dementia and anticonvulsant therapy of
plant extracts.Two afternoon were held on
workshops on basic histopathology and
immunocytochemistry, and neuropsychometric
testing method. Evenings were occupied by
sessions including the history and funding
programmes of IBRO and Fogarty and ethics and
conduct in neuroscience research.The outstanding
success of the school was made possible by the
cooperation of the Fogarty International Centre
(Drs Sharon Hrynkow and Kathleen Michels) and
IBRO (Prof. Jenny Lund). Support also came from
the French Embassy in Mali and University
of Bamako.
IBRO/INMHA Advanced School of
Neuroscience, Buenos Aires, Argentina,
Nov. 19-Dec. 6, 2005: Receptors, Channels
and Synapses: With the support of the IBRO
Latin American Regional Committee, the
Canadian Institute of Neuroscience, Mental
Health and Addiction (INMHA) and the
University of Buenos Aires, the school was
organized by Osvaldo D. Uchitel (Coordinator),
Lu-Yang Wang, Ana Belen Elgoyhen, Eleonora Katz
and Marcelo Rubinstein.
Participants at the Buenos Aires School
24 students from seven Latin American countries
(Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Cuba, Mexico,Venezuela,
Argentina) participated.The focus: the biophysics
and molecular biology of ion channels and on
synaptic transmission, modulation and plasticity.
Lectures were based on: diversity in the structure
and function of ion channels, their
pharmacological and biophysical characteristics
and channelopathies; the mechanism of neuronal
communication using the auditory pathway as a
model system; the role of calcium signaling in
synaptic transmission; secretion and vesicle
recycling; receptors and transduction mechanisms;
ligand gated channels, both ionotropic and
metabotropic. Students’ research projects were
presented orally and then discussed in detail
during poster presentations. A mentoring evening
was organized to discuss issues related on how
to build a scientific career and organize a
postdoctoral training period.The second part of
the school comprised lectures in the morning and
labs in the afternoon.Topics: modulation of
synaptic activity and plasticity; physiology of initiated and organized by Eyvee Arturo Cuellar
corticostriatal circuits; Parkinson and Lloclla, School of Medicine, Universidad de San
schizophrenia; stem cells and neuronal Antonio Abad, Cusco, Peru, a medical student in
development in the mammalian brain. his fifth year, together with some of his
Electrophysiological methods focused on patch
clamp technique and sharp electrode recordings
were used on nerve muscle preparations,
Xenopus oocytes expressing heterologous
receptors, rat cochlear hair cells, neurons in
tissue culture, brain slices and living animals.
Molecular, biological and electrophysiological
techniques were used to characterize
recombinant ligand-gated ion channels expressed
in heterologous systems as well as native
receptors present in mammalian tissues.
11th ISN-IBRO ARC Neuroscience School,
Nairobi, Kenya, December 10-17, 2005:
The school on Behavioural Neuroscience was
attended by 25 students from Cameroon, Congo, VLTP Cusco
Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, South colleagues.There were three lectures each
Africa, Sudan,Tanzania and Zimbabwe and 13 morning and two lectures each afternoon,
international instructors from nine countries and followed by an informal discussion. Small group
took place for the fourth time at the conferences were held each day by all teachers so
International Centre for Insect Physiology and that students could get to know them and ask
Ecology (ICIPE) in Duduville, in the outskirts questions about human issues, careers, lecture
Nairobi. Students were graduates with material and prospects for their careers in
qualifications in the biological sciences, pharmacy, medicine or science.
veterinary science and medicine and all engaged
in some aspect of basic or clinical neuroscience VLTP EEG Workshop and Symposium, Ho
research.Topics were up-to-date methods on Chi Minh City,Vietnam, June 7-13, 2006:
quantification of behaviour in laboratory and field The VLTP held a workshop and symposium on
animals. Faculty also demonstrated how to EEG and electrophysiological recording
monitor circadian rhythms and build upon simple techniques at the University of Medicine and
maze learning paradigms to measure subtle Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City,Vietnam.
behaviours. Students had presented short oral
communications on their research which were on
a range of topics from cerebral malaria
mechanisms to plant toxicity.The six best
presentations were awarded a book prize (gifts
from the Grass Foundation). Evenings were
occupied by journal clubs, special lectures on
history of neuroscience (RB on Don Hebb) and
bird navigation (HPL) and discussion about IBRO
and funding mechanisms (RK). At the closing
ceremony Krister Kristensson (Professor of
Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Sweden) was
recognized for his long-standing service of over
10 years to African neuroscience. VLTP Ho Chi Minh City
THE VISITING LECTURE TEAM Organizers: Nguyen Xuan Cam Huyen, University
PROGRAMME of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ho Chi Minh City,
Vietnam and John Nicholls, SISSA,Trieste, Italy.
The VLTP lecture tours are organized in Faculty: Enrico Cherubini (Italy), Maria Rita de Feo
collaboration with the local and regional (Italy), John Nicholls (Italy).The workshop aimed
neuroscience association.The VLTP has benefited to teach students how to do electroencephalog-
from considerable support from the Grass raphy and interpret the waves seen in normal and
Foundation. Following reports from Peru diseased subjects; to discuss applications of EEG
and Vietnam: and basic mechanisms that give rise to it; to pre-
pare a practical class for medical students to take
VLTP Course, Cusco, Peru, during their training. Morning lectures dealt with
November 11-15, 2005: Medical students of the mechanisms by which electrical signals arise,
Cusco organized the course attended by 80 neuronal circuitry, channelopathies, sleep and
students from universities in Lima and other parts epilepsy, artefacts affecting the EEG, interpretation
of Peru, and Colombia. Faculty: John Nicholls of recordings, normal and abnormal. Neurologists
(VLTP team, Italy), Elaine del Bel (Brazil), Fernando in Ho Chi Minh City have no access to expert
Marengo (Argentina), Juan Fernandez (Chile) and EEG recording or analysis.
Luis Angel Aguilar (Peru).Topics ranged from
VLTP Courses were also held in Tallinn, Estonia
molecular biology to higher behavioural functions
(June 2005); Bangalore, India (August 2005);
and diseases of the nervous system, with a strong
Bogota, Colombia (March 2006; Irbid, Jordan (June
emphasis on discussing the types of experiments
2006); Quito, Ecuador (July 2006);Taiwan, China
that can be done in a country that has very little
(August 2006).
money to spend on research.The course was

Cont from page 6
Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) Cold Spring Harbor, NY.
In 2006, a total of four MBL and one CSHL fellowship
were awarded.
In addition to funding their participation in the MBL and
CSHL courses, the 2005 IBRO Fellows who submitted an
abstract for the 2006 SfN Meeting in Atlanta, GA
received travel grants plus one complementary
workshop registration for a Friday course of their choice
SfN 2006.The Friday courses included the Professional
Skills Workshop, organized by Beth Fisher and Michael
Zigmond (University of Pittsburgh), Short Course #1,
Short Course #2 and the Neurobiology of Disease
Workshop.
Edward Jones
Chair, IAC-USNC
WESTERN EUROPE REGIONAL COMMITTEE:
Four new members were elected to the Western Europe
Regional Committee in 2006: Susan Sara (France), Arne
Schousboe (Denmark), Monica Di Luca (Italy; Chair),
Christos Goridis (France). Four other serving members,
Richard Frackowiak (UK), Ann Kato (Switzerland), Erik
de Schutter (Belgium) and Wolfram Schultz (UK)
remained on the Committee.
The main purpose of the WERC Committee is to
cooperate with other European organizations to improve
mobility of young neuroscientists and strengthen
educational programmes. For this reason we have been
collaborating with FENS on the WERC/FENS PhD
fellowship programme, which was launched in 2003 in
order to support PhD Fellowships in Neuroscience.
In 2006, Aditee Vyas-Ghate went from India to work at
the Institut de Genetique et de Biologie Moleculaire et
Cellulaire (Strasbourg) and successfully concluded her
PhD thesis within the time of her fellowship. She worked
under the supervision of Prof. Brigitte Kieffer; the
Committee congratulates her and wishes her success for
her future career as a young neuroscience investigator.
More students are at present successfully progressing
with their programmes: Ghato, F.Trigo, M. Mellado and
G. Barretto.
In addition, continuing a successful tradition, we
supported the Sevilla (Spain) 5th Latin-American
Doctoral Programme on Neuroscience and Behavioural
Biology, April 3-June 15, 2006.This programme is led by
Jose M. Delgado-Garcia. In 2006 WERC started its
cooperation with CEERC and FENS on the PENS
Committee, where the primary goal, under the direction
of Sigsmund Huck, is to organize the programme of
European Neuroscience Schools. Finally,WERC funded
student travel grants for the FENS Forum in Vienna, 8-12
July 2006.
Monica Di Luca
Chair,WERC

7
 INTERNATIONAL BRAIN RESEARCH ORGANIZATION
BRINGING NEUROSCIENCE TO THE WORLD
INTERNATIONAL
BRAIN RESEARCH
ORGANIZATION
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
President
Albert Aguayo (Canada)
Secretary-General
Jennifer Lund (USA)
Treasurer
Steve Redman (Australia)
Secretary-General Elect
Marina Bentivoglio (Italy)
Chairs of Regional Committees
R. N. Kalaria (Africa)
Y. S. Chan (Asian/Pacific)
P. Balaban (Central and Eastern Europe)
M. Hallak (Latin America)
E. G. Jones (US/Canada)
M. Di Luca (Western Europe)
IBRO SECRETARIAT
Executive Director
Stephanie de La Rochefoucauld
stephanie.delarochefoucauld@ibro.info
Director of Programmes
Stephanie Wubben
stephanie.wubben@ibro.info
Reimbursement and Budget Manager
Kathryn Berry
ibro@wanadoo.fr
255 Rue Saint-Honoré
75001 Paris, France
Phone:+33-1-46-47-92-92
Fax: +33-1-46-47-42-50
IBRO web site: www.ibro.info
Webmaster & Head of Information Technology
Ante Padjen
Senior Editor
Andrée Blakemore
'IBRO News'
Editor in Chief
Andree Blakemore
andree.blakemore@physiol.ox.ac.uk
Cont from page 1
Prof. Clive Ballard (UK) and Prof. Raj Kalaria (UK).
Autism: Profs Valsa Eapen (UAE) and Nobert
Nowotny (UAE) were able to forge a new
initiative with Prof. David Pauls (Harvard, USA)
for the analysis of their mitochondrial DNA data
on autism.
Pre-Conference Workshop with IBRO Regional Chairs
ADHD and Tics: Prof.Valsa Eapen (UAE) with
Prof. Mary Robertson (UK) and Dr Ahmed Al
Ansari (Bahrain) set a new initiative for a
multicentre comparative study of the prevalence
of ADHD and tics in the GCC vs UK.
Motor Control: Dr Milos Ljubisavljevic (UAE)
with Prof. John Rothwell (UK), Prof.Wim
Lammers (UAE) with Prof. David Thompson (UK).
Neuropeptides: Prof. J Michael Conlon (UAE) with
Prof. Dan Larhammar (Sweden).
Serotonin Receptors: Dr Fatima Kaneez Shad
(UAE) with Profs Erica Potter & Richard
Fitzpatrick (Australia).
Neurotoxicity: Dr Mohammed Hasan (UAE) with
Dr Nasser Zawia (Rhode Island, USA)
“IBRO funding was used to provide 15 travel
grants for young scientists to attend.
The conference was also endorsed by the
International Neuropsychiatry Association (INA)
IBRO'S COMMITTEES AND CHAIRS
Alumni
Susan Sara
sjsara@ccr.jussieu.fr
Animals in Research
Sharon Juliano
sjuliano@usuhs.mil
Brain Campaign
Esther Binns
estherlennon@ntlworld.com
By-laws & Procedures
Eduardo Roberto Macagno
dean@biology.ucsd.edu
Fellowships & Travel Grants
Kwok-Fai So
hrmaskf@hkucc.hku.hk
Finance
Steve J. Redman
redman@jcsmr.anu.edu.au
IBRO-Edu
Ante L. Padjen
ante.padjen@mcgill.ca
International Registry of Neuroscience
Training Programmes
Laurence Garey
l.garey@freesurf.ch
IBRO Science Advisory Programme
Walter Stuehmer
wstuehm@gwdg.de
Membership and Partnerships
Sten Grillner
sten.grillner@neuro.ki.se
and the Collegium Internationale
Neuro-Pharmacologicum (CINP).
“Young Scientist: Best Oral and Best Poster
Awards: Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Awards for Medical Sciences sponsored the Best
Oral & Best Poster Awards.
Best Oral Presentation Award: Ms. Lola Kola,
Department of Psychiatry, University College
Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria won the award in this
category for her presentation entitled
‘Dementia in a Developing Country: Profile and
Risk Factors’. Best Poster Presentation Award:
This award was jointly won by Ms. Florentina
Pena, Department of Animal Physiology and
Biophysics, University of Bucharest, Romania for
her poster entitled ‘Thermodynamic Properties of
Hyperpolarization-Activated Current (Ih) in a
Subgroup of Primary Sensory Neurons’ and by
Mr Belal Rahhal, Department of Neuroanatomy,
Faculty of Medicine, University of Goettingen,
Germany for his poster entitled ‘TGF-‚/GDNF
Synergism in Brain Development in vivo and
in vitro’.
“We hope that this conference will serve as the
starting point for future collaborative activities
with IBRO.We also hope that UAE will be able to
take a lead role for future activities in the region.
We have already started discussions are ongoing
between Profs. Raj Kalaria (Chair, IBRO Africa
Region) and Ying Shing Chan (Chair, IBRO Asia-
Pacific Region) about setting up IBRO
Neuroscience Schools & Workshops in the UAE.”
Prof. Valsa Eapen, Conference Chair
FREE/LOW-COST
Neuro-Grants
ACCESS TO JOURNALS
Connie Atwell ARE YOU ELIGIBLE?
atwellc@ninds.nih.gov
HINARI provides institutions in
Neuroscience History developing countries with free or low cost
Javier de Felipe online access to major journals in
defelipe@cajal.csic.es biomedical and related social sciences.
Over 3300 journal titles are now available
Neuroscience Libraries to health institutions in 113 countries,
Marina Bentivoglio benefiting many thousands of health
marina.bentivolgio@univr.it workers and researchers, and contributing
to improved world health.
Neuroscience Schools http://www.who.int/library/reference/temp/
John G. Hildebrand eligible_countries.pdf.
jgh@neurobio.arizona.edu AGORA: AGORA provides access to
over 500 journals from major scientific
Nominating publishers in the fields of food, agriculture,
Annica Dahlström environmental science and related social
annica.dahlstrom@anatcell.gu.se sciences. AGORA is available to students
and researchers of qualifying institutions in
Publications eligible developing countries.
Piergiorgio Strata http://www.aginternetwork.org/en/
piergiorgio.strata@unito.it PERI provides on-line access to full text
articles from medical journals, free or at
Return Home reduced fees based on GNP.
Fernando Lopes da Silva http://www.inasp.info/peri/countries.html.
silva@science.uva.nl eJournals Delivery Service: eJournals
delivers free scientific articles via e-mail to
Symposia & Workshops scientists in developing country institutions
Kenneth J. Muller who lack sufficient Internet access.
kmuller@miami.edu Focus on journals publishing mathematics,
physics and computing, but broad journals
Web Site are included.
Andree Blakemore http://www.ictp.trieste.it/ejournals/index-i.html
andree.blakemore@physiol.ox.ac.uk
World Congress
Josef Syka
syka@biomed.cas.cz
FOGARTY
UPDATES
CAJAL CLUB AWARDS
INTERNATIONAL
FOR TWO YOUNG
PROGRAMS
NEUROSCIENTISTS
Details of Fogarty International Center’s
IBRO’s Symposia & Workshops Programme (NIH) Neuroscience Research and Training
provided funding for the International Meeting of Programs as of June 2006 are at
the Cajal Club held in the Nobel Forum of the http://www.fic.nih.gov/programs/index.htm
Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden,
June 11-13, 2006. Catherine Levine (USA) and
Arnab Chakrabarty (India) were awarded travel
grants to attend the meeting through the funding
provided by IBRO.
NEURODENERATIVE
DISEASES LECTURES
ON THE WEB
The IAC-USNC/IBRO Committee has
launched a series of lectures, ‘Protein
Misfolding as a Common Pathway in the
Dementias and Other Neurodegenerative
Diseases’, given as part of the
‘Neurobiology of Disease’ workshop at
the 2004 SfN meeting.Those living in
countries with poor internet access can be
sent a CD version of the lectures (contact
Rachel Locke webmaster@iac-usnc.org).
Arnab Chakrabarty and Catherine Levine with
http://www.iac-usnc.org/ndw2004/index.html
Cajal Club Secretary Dr Charles Ribak in front of
Catherine’s poster
FIRST PENS SCHOOLS HELD IN 2006
The Programme of European Neuroscience Schools (PENS) is a joint collaboration between FENS and
IBRO and was launched in 2005. PENS got off to a successful start with its first four schools in 2006:
The Brain as a Target for Inflammatory Processes, Berlin, Germany (May); Advanced Course in
Computational Neuroscience, Arcachon, France (August); Imaging Brain Function: From Molecules to
Mind, Lausanne/Geneva Switzerland (Sept); Basic Mechanisms of Synaptic Function, Bordeaux, France
(Sept). A fifth school, Brain Basis of Social Interaction: From Concepts to Imaging, will be held in
Kitzbuehel, Austria in December.
Through these schools PENS aims to increase the quality of neuroscience education in Europe, create a
European network of alumni and teachers, and assist the development of Neuroscience outside Europe
by providing opportunities in Europe for the training of promising students. Most students are from
Western, Central and Eastern Europe, but applications are also received from the US and Canada, and
from Asia, Africa and Latin America. PENS is now seeking additional funding partnerships for a new
round of applications for schools in 2007.
Sigismund Huck (Chair, PENS Committee)
Information: http://mars.glia.mdc-berlin.de/pens/