Sue Deuchars
University of Leeds (Meetings Committee)

Nick Boross-Toby
The Physiological Society

https://doi.org/10.36866/pn.106.20

The Society is delighted to be partnering with the British Neuroscience Association’s Festival of Neuroscience, being held in Birmingham this year. Readers will be aware that The Society is running a series of cross-departmental activities throughout 2017. Our aim: Making Sense of Stress!

As Professor Stafford Lightman (Bristol), President-elect of the BNA writes, ‘Our ability to survive depends on our ability to respond to a changing environment. We have developed coordinated nervous system, hormonal, immunological and social mechanisms to maintain the healthy state of our bodies. Unfortunately these are not always adequate, and when external stressors – either mental or physical – exceed our ability to cope, this results in physical or psychological disorder.’ This topic meeting, running alongside the BNA meeting, has brought together some of the world’s leading researchers in the field to speak on various aspects of the neurobiology of stress at the four Society sponsored symposia. We are delighted that over 30 abstracts have also been submitted within this theme, covering subjects as varied as the role of particular receptors or neurones in specific stress responses, the analysis of stress responses, the effects of stress on neurogenesis and the upregulation of protective mechanisms in response to stress. We are sure that many Society members will find these sessions fascinating, regardless of their particular research focus. In particular, the joy of attending a meeting such as this is the chance to connect with new faces and consider how you may adapt techniques or interpret your research findings in the light of new data from the meeting.

Our Society has always had a thriving and extremely active cohort of members who consider neuroscience as their main topic of interest. Indeed, their input to the main meetings of The Society is invariably considerable, lively and often controversial! We aim to provide this neuroscience cohort – and all cohorts within The Society – with opportunities to present their research by a variety of means, including our Topic Meetings. Since The Society has such a diverse number of subjects on which Topic Meetings could be focussed and limited resources for each year, these are carefully allocated to cater for all the needs of our members. With this in mind, one way to enhance the experience of Society members when the time comes round for a Topic Meeting is to hold joint meetings with like-minded researchers to boost the numbers of delegates and activities available, without extra cost. The Society is always aware of the importance of strong links with other learned societies, such as the BNA, and many of our members are also members of the BNA.

The introduction of joint meetings such as this with the BNA provides an opportunity for Society members to interact with 1500 delegates from around the world and enjoy 40 symposia on a variety of other neuroscience themes, not just those sponsored by the Society. Thus, the links were forged with the BNA some time ago, with a thought to holding a joint meeting. As a trustee of The Society, Sue Deuchars was invited onto the programme
committee to work with Professor Lightman on developing the topic meeting symposia. It is interesting to see that many of the programme committee for this joint meeting are indeed members of our Society, proving beyond doubt our bond and belief in collaborative ventures to further one of our main charitable objects, which is to promote physiology to all. Members of our Society were asked to suggest symposia with the four themes listed below, and we received some brilliant proposals from which the final four were chosen. These, together with posters and lightning talks given by many of the younger presenters, ensure that Society members will be immersed in stress for a couple of days!

The Society’s Neurobiology of Stress Topic Meeting explores how current research is gaining an understanding of the stress-responsive systems that protect us from the forces that threaten our bodily balance and stability. Our programme runs on 11 and 12 April and includes four symposia covering
the broad topics of ‘Stress and cardiovascular control’, ‘Behavioural and emotional aspects of stress’, ‘Influences of stress on neurodegeneration/neurogenesis’ and ‘The neuroendocrinology of stress’.

Stress and cardiovascular control

Stress disorders are associated with an elevated risk of a range of different cardiovascular events, including stroke, coronary heart disease, heart failure, and cardiovascular death. There is a need for animal research to understand the mechanisms involved in these events and to increase therapeutic approaches. In this context, the symposium will give an example of acute stress-induced cardiovascular alteration, with a focus of corticotropin-releasing factor implication in the bed nucleus. Cardiorespiratory function in stress states, such as epilepsy, hypertension and sleep apnoea seems also to be linked to PACAP and microglia in the brainstem and spinal cord; will also be addressed, as will chronic stress-induced anxiety and how alteration of the autonomic system is associated with a neural circuit involving serotonin in the brainstem. Finally, the symposium will talk about potential cardioprotective effects of a pharmacological approach that targets the endocannabinoid system in rats with high-anxiety behaviour.

Behavioural and emotional aspects of stress

Stress is a major risk factor for mood disorders which are accompanied by altered emotional functioning. Until the establishment of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), first in humans and more recently in rodents, it was extremely difficult to determine the nature of the altered processing within brain networks that underpins dysfunctional emotional behaviour. This symposium will describe the neural correlates of emotion and the consequences of stress upon the emotional circuitry. The advancement of animal imaging techniques described in this symposium allows assessment of ‘biomarkers of network functionality’ using directly translatable paradigms, hence facilitating translation of potential novel therapies from preclinical rodent studies to man.

Influences of stress on neurodegeneration / neurogenesis

Environmental stressors have very potent effects both on synaptic function and on cognitive processes. Recently we have been able to recognise how both stressful events and glucocorticoid hormones can modify glutamate receptor function and synaptic plasticity, while novel molecular studies have begun to show how both genomic and non-genomic responses can modify synaptic chemistry and structure. This symposium goes from the most basic dynamic control of glucocorticoid-responsive genes through glutamate receptor trafficking and into mental illness and finally into aspects of brain ageing.

The neuroendocrinology of stress

Even before it is born, the conditions an animal experiences can have a significant impact on later life. Several studies have shown that detrimental developmental conditions can have long-lasting effects on a range of important phenotypic traits, and the main candidate mechanism is activation of the HPA axis and increased exposure to glucocorticoid hormones. This neuroendocrine response to stress has the power to programme a wide range of traits, from behavioural to neural, and there is now a consensus of just how important proper regulation of the HPA axis is in mediating health and well-being in humans and other animals. The symposium will showcase the cutting edge of the research currently underway in this field of glucocorticoid programming, focussing on integrating information from behavioural data (cognitive abilities), neuroendocrine responses (HPA axis regulation and the effects on behaviour), epigenetic mechanisms underlying gene expression changes in the brain (specifically changes to DNA methylation of specific genes involved in stress responses) and the potential for programming of resilience to stress. It will present data from a range of animal models and will take a comparative approach to understanding the pervasive effects of early life adversity.

Plenary lecture

We are also pleased to be supporting a plenary lecture by Professor Alon Chen (Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry) on Wednesday, 12 April. Professor Chen’s research focuses on the Neurobiology of Stress, particularly the mechanisms by which the brain is regulating the response to stressful challenges and how this response is linked to psychiatric disorders. His lab has made discoveries linking the action of specific stress-related genes with anxiety, depression, weight regulation and diabetes. His research team uses both mouse genetic models and human patients to ultimately create the scientific groundwork for therapeutic interventions to treat stress-related emotional disorders such as anxiety, post-traumatic stress, eating disorders, and depression.

His lecture entitled ‘Genetic and optogenetic dissection of the central stress response and stress-linked psychiatric disorders’ will be one of the highlights of the festival and should not be missed!

The Physiological Society will be exhibiting at the festival. If you are attending the meeting please do come and say hello and grab your very own copy of ‘An eclectic A-Z guide of Birmingham – for when you don’t quite know what you want!’ written in 2013 by YO Blacola!

‘Stress is life and life is stress’ —Hans Selye