Schedule for Invited Symposia

All symposia run from 11:00 to 12:30

Tuesday, July 28

1. Principles of sensory navigation across species & habitats

Claire Wyart, Paris Brain Institute

The symposium brings together leading experimentalists investigating complex animal navigation driven by olfaction and vision in both invertebrates (ants, flies) and vertebrates (cavefish, pigeons, rodents). It will also explore how machine learning is transforming our understanding and modeling of animal behavior. By integrating diverse approaches, the event will foster rich discussions on navigation theories and the neuronal mechanisms underlying distant and local search behaviors.

Nick Kathman, Marshall University, USA
Sylvie Rétaux, Paris-Saclay Institute of ́Neuroscience, France
Gautam Reddy, Princeton University, USA
Claire Wyart, Paris Brain Institute, France
Antoine Wystrach, CBI, CNRS, Toulouse, France

2. Principles of communication in social groups: from behavior to neurons

Megan Freiler, University of Minnesota

While signaling interactions have traditionally been studied between one sender and receiver, many species form groups where they interact with and distinguish between multiple individuals. The behavioral, neural, and cognitive mechanisms that regulate social-decision making and sensorimotor circuits should be under strong selection to facilitate efficient communication in socially complex environments. This symposium showcases how different species (wasps, fish, frogs, birds, bats) communicate amid social complexity across contexts (agonistic, mate choice, predation) using different modalities (visual, acoustic, electric). These researchers use advances in multi-animal tracking and signal analysis in the lab and field to ask how animals process and respond to overlapping social inputs.

Grégory Lafon, National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment, France
Angeles Salles, University of Illinois Chicago, USA
Mariana Rodriguez-Santiago, Colorado State University, USA
Patrick Weygoldt, University of Tübingen, Germany
Lorenzo Micolucci, Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence, Germany

3. Evolution of sleep: a comparative perspective to unravel the biological function of sleep?

Jerome Beetz, University of Würzburg

We spend about a third of our lives sleeping. Therefore, it is not surprising that sleeping behavior has fascinated generations of scientists. Despite this fascination, the biological function of sleep remains unclear. One way to address this is through a comparative approach. This symposium aims to provide an overview of the current progress in sleep research by presenting findings from a broad evolutionary range (i.e., from insects to mammals). To this end, five speakers, each aiming to unravel the biological function of sleep by focusing on a different species, i.e., flies, bees, cavefish, lizards, pigeons, and mice, will present their findings. Their research covers a wide spectrum of techniques, including electrophysiology, neural imaging, pupil tracking, and behavioral experiments.

Alex Keene, Texas A&M University, USA
Hanna Zwaka, Leibniz-Institute for Neurobiology, Germany
Azahara Oliva, Cornell University, USA
Lorenz Fenk, MPI for Biological Intelligence, Germany
Gianina Ungurean, MPI for Biological Intelligence, Germany

4. Adaptive responses to changing internal and external environments: weathering the storm

Joe Santin, University of Missouri-Columbia & David Schulz, University of Missouri-Columbia

As animals navigate through the world, their nervous systems are constantly challenged by changes in their internal and external environments. Therefore, one of the most fundamental challenges in cellular and systems neuroscience is understanding how neuronal circuits also “regulate themselves” amid a lifetime of disturbances over a broad range of time scales. Indeed, when nervous system activity strays from acceptable limits, the behaviors it controls will inevitably fail. Recent research has revealed a variety of mechanisms that enable neurons to produce healthy outputs in changing environments, and in this symposium, we invite speakers to discuss innovative work on cellular and molecular mechanisms to overcome stress in challenging environments encountered in the wild.

Lara Amaral-Silva, Wake Forest University, USA
Daniel Powell, Bowdoin College, USA
Clarice Diebold, Washington University, USA
Hafsa Yaseen, University of Missouri, USA
Kathleen Jacquerie, Brandeis University, USA

Wednesday, July 29

5. The neural substrate of animal collective motion

Amir Ayali, Tel Aviv University

Collective motion is widespread across different scales and species. Fish schools, bird murmuration, or insect swarms are some examples of the intricate spatial and temporal patterns demonstrated in different environments. The prevailing paradigm is that such complex behavioral patterns result from repeated local interactions among individual group members. This symposium will present recent findings, from a variety of vertebrate and invertebrate models, comprising novel insights into the neural basis of the decision making and behavior of the individual, allowing coordination and synchronization among the group. The research presented employs diverse approaches and cutting-edge techniques, ranging from behavioral monitoring and electrophysiology to virtual reality and computer modeling.

Matthew Lovett-Barron, University of California San Diego, USA
Saikat Ray, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel
Clara Howcroft Ferreira, Northumbria University, United Kingdom
Amir Ayali, Tel Aviv University, Israel
Orit Peleg, University of Colorado Boulder, USA

6. Brains in the wild A

Nachum Ulanovsky, Weizmann Institute of Science & Jan Benda, University of Tuebingen

In the past few years, neuroethology has witnessed a paradigm shift toward studying neurophysiology and quantitative animal behavior in the field – fueled by advances in wireless electrophysiology and AI-based data analysis. This symposium will focus on recent neurophysiological, behavioral, and comparative studies performed outdoors in a wide range of species (bats, mice, lemurs, songbirds, penguins, and electric fish). The talks showcase how neural recordings and behavioral quantification in the wild sheds new light on the neuroethology of navigation, foraging, decision making, sociality, singing, and sleep. We hope that this symposium will inspire more neuroethologists to study the neurophysiology of natural behaviors in the real world, outdoors – a “dream come true” for neuroethology.

Nachum Ulanovsky, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel
Antonio Fernandez-Ruiz, Cornell University, USA
Susanne Hoffmann, MPI Biological Intelligence, Germany
Jakob Voigts, Janelia Research Campus, USA
Niels Rattenborg, MPI Biological Intelligence, Germany

7. The evolutionary, behavioral, and neural bases of synchrony

Lauren O’Connell, Stanford University & Eduardo Fernandez Duque, Yale University

Interactions strengthening relationships are the building blocks of social life. Research in humans identified social synchrony as a behavioral phenomenon with neuroendocrine correlates and physiological benefits. In animals, decades of theoretical work emphasized group behavior as a long-term strategy promoting individual fitness, rather than how social interactions promote teamwork and homeostasis. Yet, recent studies enabled by new methods yielded similar results across vertebrates, where neuroendocrine synchrony is well conserved in critical social interactions. In our symposium, we aim to bridge anthropological, neural, and ecological fields by integrating humans, primates, birds, fish and amphibians into our understanding of the neural and physiological synchrony promoting sociality.

Monica Masalha, Hebrew University, Israel
Zoe Donaldson, University of Colorado Boulder, USA
Facundo Fernandez-Duque, University of Illinois, USA
Billie Goolsby, Stanford University, USA
Isaac Miller-Crews, Indiana University, USA

8. Neurosustainability: how brain science is revolutionizing environmental design and policy

Tracy Larson, University of Virginia & Jeff Riffel, University of Washington

‘Neurosustainability’ represents a paradigm shift – one that recognizes that cognitive health and environmental vitality are deeply intertwined systems, influencing one another in profound ways. This symposium brings together researchers from animal behavior, ecology, cognitive neuroscience, urban design, and policy to explore how diverse expertise can be integrated into comprehensive solutions. The symposium will feature innovative strategies for creating environments that simultaneously enhance cognitive function, support biodiversity conservation, and strengthen environmental governance. Participants will gain insights into cutting-edge tools and frameworks that they can use to transform their research into solutions for real-world challenges.

Sara Freeman, Utah State University, USA
Noa Pinter-Wollman, University of California Los Angeles, USA
Martin Tresguerres, University of California San Diego, USA
Ruiqi Li, University of Southern California, USA
Fabio Cortesi, The University of Queensland, Australia

Thursday, July 30

9. Peripheral circuits that shape descending commands to modulate motor programs

Brad Dickerson, Princeton University & Simon Sponberg, Georgia Tech

Locomotor circuits rely on local sensory feedback to dynamically tune motor output. Mechanosensors’ direct coupling with the environment makes them especially important for providing robust signals about movement at short timescales. However, a growing body of work is showing that such feedback not only shapes local reflexes but also sculpts descending commands. Thus, peripheral feedback circuits may have an underappreciated role in integrating processing with central brain regions than suggested by classic hierarchical motor control framework. This symposium will span organismal models, modes of locomotion, and life history stage to derive principles regarding how peripheral mechanosensory feedback transforms descending information from the brain and enables rapid, flexible behavior.

Brad Dickerson, Princeton University, USA
Elias Lunsford, Paris Brain Institute, France
Alex Yarger, Imperial College London, United Kingdom
Chris Dallmann, University of Würzburg, Germany
Simon Sponberg, Georgia Tech, USA

10. Brains in the wild B

Jan Benda, University of Tübingen

Daniel Huber, Geneva University, Switzerland
Federico Pedraja, Columbia University, USA
Yossi Yovel, Tel Aviv University, Israel
Pranav Minasandra, MPI Animal Behavior, Germany
Lena Stöckl, University of Tübingen, Germany

11. The neuroethology of water stress: thirst, desiccation risk and water-seeking behavior

Deborah Gordon, Stanford University

As many regions of the world grow more arid and temperatures rise, water stress is a growing environmental challenge for many animals including humans. This symposium will explore how the neural mechanisms for detecting thirst and desiccation, and humidity conditions in the environment, are linked to the behavior involved in seeking water and avoiding the risk of water loss. Speakers will present studies of insects, crustaceans, and mammals that examine cellular and neurogenetic mechanisms of hydration and humidity sensing, gut–brain and neural circuit control of thirst, and dopaminergic regulation of decisions about water and desiccation risk.

Elena Gracheva, Yale University, USA
Zachary Knight, University of California San Francisco, USA
Willem Laursen, University of Washington, USA
Mitchell Roitman, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA
Deborah Gordon, Stanford University, USA

12. The neuroscience of emotion

Vivek Nityananda, Newcastle University & Luigi Baciadonna, University of Cambridge

Understanding the affective states, including emotions and moods, of non-human animals is crucial to understand their natural behaviour and to develop treatments for neuropsychological disorders in animals and in humans. Recent research has investigated these states in several different animals and a picture of the neural mechanisms underlying these states and their impact on behaviour is becoming clearer. This symposium brings together experts across multiple model systems who investigate the neural basis of emotion to enable a comparative approach and identify common principles and divergences across taxa. This symposium will be of interest to several researchers in neuroethology, especially researchers of state-dependent neural processing and cognition, and comparative neuroscience.

Rui Oliveira, Gulbenkian Institute, Portugal
Catherine Macri, Sorbonne University, France
Masashi Tanaka, Waseda University, Japan
Roman Coupeau, University of Caen, France
Zaria George, University of Illinois, USA

Friday, July 31

13. Neural basis of acoustic communication across vertebrates

Susanne Babl, Free University of Berlin & Luciana López-Jury, Max Planck Institute for Brain Research

This symposium explores the neural basis of acoustic communication across multiple vertebrate taxa. Acoustic communication is a key topic in neuroethology, as it is a multimodal behavior that relies on the integration of auditory, motor and social systems in the brain. Rooted in ancient evolutionary mechanisms, vocal communication has diversified widely across vertebrates. Examining this diversity can help uncover general principles of how the brain produces highly flexible and socially influenced behaviors. Speakers will present recent advances on how diverse brains generate, perceive, and adapt acoustic signals, highlighting both shared principles and distinctive solutions across species.

David Zheng, Cornell University, USA
Ana Amador, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina
Andrew Bass, Cornell University, USA
Logan James, McGill University, Canada
Luciana López-Jury, Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Germany

14. Periphery is key: adaptations to natural scenes in the visual periphery of arthropods & vertebrates

Anna Stöckl, Konstanz University & Gregor Belušič, University of Ljubljana

Peripheral visual processing is critical for adapting central pathways to the statistical properties of inputs animals encounter in natural habitats. Recent advances in connectomics, as well as the integration of novel environmental imaging with physiological studies, have unraveled substantial morphological and physiological variation in the visual periphery, reflecting the diversity of species’ habitats and life histories. Featuring work on the visual periphery’s tuning to their natural input statistics across vertebrates and invertebrates (mice, flies, butterflies, mantis shrimps and sharks), we aim to stimulate discussion across clades, bridging from neural form and function to the animals’ natural behavioural ecology.

Kentaro Arikawa, Sokendai, Japan
Marion Silies, Johannes Gutenberg University, Germany
Maximilian Joesch, Institute of Science and Technology Austria
Amy Streets, Case Western Reserve University, USA
George Kafetzis, Sussex University, United Kingdom

15. Animal architecture

Andrew Gordus, Johns Hopkins University & Patrick McGrath, Georgia Institute of Technology

Tinbergen proposed that behaviors are nested within a hierarchy of different drives, or what we would now call “internal states”. However, these states are rarely defined by specific behaviors, but instead on changes in the probabilities of common behavioral motifs. Ideally, a method that revealed intent would simplify their study. Animal architecture presents us with a unique tool: the architecture itself is a physical record of an animal’s past intent. This extended phenotype is observed throughout the animal kingdom. Here we present research that leverages animal architecture to understand intent using different study systems, employing a variety of tools from explicit neuronal manipulation, to evolutionary comparisons, to genomic analysis.

Sanjay Sane, Tata Institute, India
Gregory Artiushin, Johns Hopkins University, USA
Emily Keaton, Georgia Tech, USA
Lauren Guillette, University of Alberta, Canada
Caleb Weinreb, Harvard University, USA

16. Orientation across modalities

James Foster, University of Konstanz

Orientation relies on the integration of external directional cues with internal representations of spaceand heading. This seminar brings together researchers working on both insects and vertebrates to examine how animals use electrosensory, magnetic and celestial information for orientation and navigation. By linking behaviour, sensory ecology and neural circuitry, the session highlights common principles by which diverse organisms achieve robust orientation across environments and scales.

Evripides Gkanias, Lund University, Sweden
Avner Wallach, Israel Institute of Technology, Israel
Griffin Baldalamente, Lund University, Sweden
Alayna Mackiewicz, University of Washington, USA
James Foster, University of Konstanz, Germany

Conference Symposia