Model systems in neuroscience research – the what, why and when?

Event Notes:

A diverse range of model organisms and systems have played a vital role in illuminating fundamental aspects of neuroscience, elucidating disease mechanisms and in drug discovery for neurological disorders. Neuroscience researchers often have a deep affinity for the model system they primarily use, but as technologies continue to evolve and new techniques emerge, we need to ask ourselves:

• Are we always using the best model system to answer our scientific question?
• Are we missing valuable opportunities in to adapt our preferred models or incorporate novel approaches that are used in other model systems?
• Can we break down our “model system” silos to accelerate the impact of our research?

With these questions in mind, this training session will be presented by experts with experience across a wide range of different model organisms and systems used in neuroscience research. They will highlight areas of value for each model, recent research advances made using the models and some of the challenges.