249th Eastern Forum of Science and Technology: "Language and the Function of Prefrontal Cortex"

The 249^th Eastern Forum of Science and Technology (EFST) took place at NYU Shanghai’s new Pudong campus on November 2-3, 2014. Jointly sponsored by the Shanghai Municipal Government, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, the forum was organized by NYU Shanghai and featured the theme of “Language and the Function of Prefrontal Cortex.”

Joined by leading scholars in the fields of neuroscience, mathematics and related disciplines, this by-invitation-only forum included attendees from elite research institutions such as New York University (New York campus), Haskins Laboratories, NYU Shanghai, Tsinghua University, Peking University, Fudan University, East China Normal University, Beijing Normal University, National Supercomputer Center in Tianjin, Institute of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Huazhong University of Science and Technology.

Xiao-Jing Wang, Professor of Neural Science at New York University and Associate Vice Chancellor for Research at NYU Shanghai, and Yongdi Zhou, Dean of the School of Psychology and Cognitive Science at ECNU, co-chaired the forum. Through animated discussions and exchanges, the forum revealed new insights into the research of neuroimaging, computational neuroscience, decision-making, language and intelligence, and animal models of cognitive functions. The forum also fostered interdisciplinary dialogues on topics related to neuroscience and artificial intelligence research.

About the Forum

Eastern Forum of Science and Technology (EFST) is jointly initiated and sponsored by the Shanghai Municipal Government, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE). The Forum is a comprehensive, forward-looking and strategic symposium of Sciences and Technology, which aims to engage scientists, technologists and engineers.

About NYU-ECNU Institute of Brain and Cognitive Science at NYU Shanghai

The NYU-ECNU Institute of Brain and Cognitive Science at NYU Shanghai is a unique research and training environment where we advance our understanding of brain function in health and disease. The primary goal of the institute is to understand the mechanisms by which neural circuits in the brain generate higher cognition and flexible behavior and how their impairments are associated with brain diseases, such as autism, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer’s disease.

The institute, built jointly between NYU and ECNU, will leverage the existing significant strength of neuroscience research at our universities: systems and cognitive neuroscience, using a range of tools including the development of transgenic primates, molecular and physiological studies of neural circuits, experimental analysis of behavior, microcircuit and large-scale neural circuit modeling, and human-brain imaging.

View the Forum Gallery