Abstract Submission

Symposia

Making sense of the visual world through circuits and behavior: from flies to primates

Prof. Dr. Jason Kerr
Scientific Director, current Managing Director,

Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior

This symposium has been organised and chaired by Professor Jason Kerr from the Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior. He and international collaborators will highlight vision as an active, context-dependent computation shaped by connectivity, internal motor signals, and environmental demands.

This symposium will brings together four perspectives on how the visual systems of very different species turn light into action through different behavioral strategies as well as circuit designs, from the retina to the visual cortex. Spanning Drosophila, mice, primates, and freely flyinghawks, the symposium will introduce high resolution imaging techniques for quantification of free-behavior, neuronal activity, and dense reconstruction of visual neural circuits.

Speakers:

Dr Kevin Briggman (Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior) - Insights into retinal circuit function from comparative and correlative connectomics

Dr Lisa Fenk (Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence) - Neural mechanisms for active eye movements in Drosophila
Dr Damian Wallace (Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior) - Eye movements in animals during pursuit behaviour: from mice, to ferrets to freely flying hawks
Prof. Jason Kerr (Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior) - Luminance Encoding by Cortico-Thalamic L6 in Freely Exploring Mice

Neuroimaging advances and their clinical applications

Assoc. Prof. Olivia Harrison

Department of Psychology,

University of Otago

This symposium has been organised and will be chaired by Associate Professor Olivia Harrison from the University of Otago. Presenters highlights how advanced neuroimaging technology, translational science, community engagement, and multidisciplinary collaboration come together to push the boundaries of neuroscience research.

This symposium presents an international cross-section of leading-edge MRI developments and their clinical applications across Aotearoa New Zealand and Sydney, Australia. Attendees will be introduced to a broad spectrum of neuroimaging research, from novel MRI sequences, mapping of ultra-high resolution brainstem neurocircuitry and large-scale, multimodal analysis methodologies, with a focus on how they can be used in clinical settings. Attendees will hear from neuroimaging research groups about their latest findings, discover collaborative opportunities that transcend geography, and explore ground-breaking innovations poised to reshape diagnostic precision, treatment approaches, and the broader landscape of neuroscience research.

Speakers:

Prof Sam Holdsworth (University of Auckland/Mātai Medical Research Institute) - A new dimension of brain imaging: Novel MRI techniques for revealing hidden markers of brain health
Mr Ben Bristow (Mātai Medical Research institute) - Characterizing functional connectivity differences in early abstinent methamphetamine users
Dr Jack Scott (University of Otago) - From the scanner to the cap: AI-powered timeseries insights for neuroimaging and ADHD
Ms Ella McLeod (University of Otago) - Functional Connectivity Associated with Perception and Anxiety
Ms Audrey Zhu (University of Auckland) - BOLD variability changes across the lifespan are frequency-specific
Dr Lewis Crawford (University of Sydney) - 7-Tesla functional imaging of brainstem pain control centers: insights from experimental pain and pain modulation research studies

The Heart-Brain Axis: From Autonomic Circuits to Clinical Care

This symposium has been organised in conjunction with MedSci and will be chaired by Associate Professor Anna Mitchell from the University of Canterbury. Presenters will explore the complex communication networks of the heart-brain axis, tracing a continuous translational line from basic neural circuitry to human clinical applications.

The session opens with a broad overview of the heart-brain axis, highlighting the critical importance of considering this bidirectional relationship within our wider research frameworks. Presenters will then challenge and expand our understanding of cardiovascular and neurological connectivity across multiple scales. The session will ask whether the heart is fundamentally as plastic as the brain, exploring cellular-level adaptability, before diving into acute pathology to unpack the dangerous dissociation between cardiac electrical activity and actual circulatory output during terminal seizures. Shifting to macrovascular dynamics and acute neurovascular crises, the symposium showcases advanced neuroimaging techniques used to map brain hemodynamics, alongside new insights into how the global cardiovascular system responds during an ischemic stroke and the novel therapeutic approaches that could help protect the brain from injury. Finally, the narrative bridges directly to perinatal care, investigating whether the fetal electrocardiogram can be successfully leveraged to determine if a fetus has sustained hypoxic-ischemic brain injury well before birth.

The symposium will finish with an interactive panel discussion facilitated by the chair, offering a holistic look at how autonomic dysregulation impacts health across the lifespan.

Speakers:

Assoc. Prof. Anna Mitchell (University of Canterbury) - Overview of the heart-brain axis
Prof. Johanna Montgomery (University of Auckland) - Is the heart as plastic as the brain?
Dr Catherine Morgan (University of Auckland) - 4D Flow MRI brain hemodynamics
Prof. Chris Reid (Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health) - Dissociation Between Cardiac Electrical Activity and Circulatory Output During Terminal Seizures
Dr Fiona McBryde (University of Auckland) - Cardiovascular responses and neuroprotection in ischemic stroke
Prof. Laura Bennet (University of Auckland) - Can we use the fetal electrocardiogram to determine if a fetus has sustained hypoxic-ischemic brain injury well before birth?