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In
1994, with major financial support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation,
The Salk Institute for Biological Studies established a Center for Theoretical
Neurobiology. The principal objective of the Center is to develop a frim
theoretical infrastructure for modern experimental neurobiology. We expect
to accomplish this goal by applying theoretical concepts and techniques,
drawn from the physical sciences, to a wider range of problems in neurobiology.
Our Center sponsors a training program so that individuals with expertise
in the physical sciences, mathematics. Our Center also seeks to educate
conventionally-trained neurobiologists of modern theoretical tools. The Swartz Foundation continues to fund research in the
Center as well as a seminar series and visitors program.
The Salk Institute houses several research programs that are on the forefront
of modern experimental neurobiology. The common goal of these programs
is to improve understanding of the organization and function of the nervous
system. Our areas of study span a wide range of critical levels of analysis,
including molecular characterization of ion channels, synaptic transmission
and plasticity, developmental events in circuit formation, characterization
of the properties of cortical neurons, and the relationship of the latter
to sensory, perceptual, and cognitive experience. Our discoveries have
led important insights into the brain processes responsible for learning,
memory, visual perception, motor control and language, as well as an understanding
of the genetic and environmental factors that influence brain development
and plasticity.
As in any established science, experimental work is but one path along
the road to understanding neurobiology also depends heavily upon the development
of the theories that can be used to interpret results and guide new experiments.
Due to the complexity of the nervous system and the youthfulness of the
endeavor, however, the field of neurobiology currently lacks theoretical
tools and concepts on scale with the quality and quantity of available
data. Strategies potentially useful in filling this gap may be drawn from
the physical sciences, where it has long been possible to model physical
systems that have structural, behavioral, or functional similarities to
neurobiological systems. The mandate of the Center for Theoretical Neurobiology
is to encourage the exploitation and development of such strategies in
the novel context of neurobiology.
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The larger scientific research community of La Jolla includes
The Salk Institute, the Universitiy of California San Diego, and the
Research Institute of Scripps Clinic. Collectively, These institutions
have ascended and propered in recent years, making La Jolla one of the
world's preeminent communities for biomedical research. Thus there are
excellent resources and avenues for scientific interchange to be found
just outside The Salk Institute. The adjacent campus of the University
of California maintains stellar research programs and courses of instructions
in neurobiology that are administered through six majors academic departments:
Neurosciences, Biology, Psychology, Cognitive Sciences, Physics and
Philosophy. Indeed, one of the greatest strengths of the UCSD campus
lies in the scale and diversity of approaches to understanding brain
function. The UCSD Graduate Program in Neurosciences was recently ranked
first in the nation by the National Research Council. The La Jolla neuroscience
community is further augmented by the faculty of numerous clinical departments
in the UCSD School of Medicine, and the proximity of three major research
hospitals. The nearby Scripps Clinic houses the Neurosciences Research
Institute.
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