Greetings
We are delighted to announce the X House Symposium of the Brain Institute, which will take place on December 11–12 (Thursday and Friday), throughout the day.
This year’s symposium marks a particularly promising moment for our Institute. Our research community has secured substantial funding from diverse sources, ensuring the continuity and expansion of our scientific and educational programs for the coming years.
In addition, the recent resumption of federal funding has enabled us to welcome new researchers, including some of our former students who are now returning as independent investigators. This meeting will therefore be an excellent opportunity to introduce our new colleagues, learn about their scientific interests, methodologies, and projects, and foster new collaborations across research groups.
As in previous years, the event will feature invited lectures, oral presentations, poster sessions, and data-blitz sessions.
We strongly encourage Master’s and PhD students, especially those who defended or will defend their thesis, to take this opportunity to present their research as an oral communication (with or without a poster). We are also discussing with PGNeuro the possibility of awarding prizes for the best poster and oral presentations.
If the number of submissions exceeds the available presentation slots (for both posters and oral communications), a scientific review committee will evaluate and select the presenters for the symposium.
The vitality of our symposium depends on the active participation of our community, and your contribution is essential to make this edition another vibrant and high-level scientific event, reflecting the excellence and collaborative spirit of the Brain Institute.
For any questions or suggestions, please feel free to reply to this email.
Warm regards,
The Organizing Committee
PROGRAM
DAY 01 – DECEMBER 11
8:00
Welcome / Registration
8:45
Welcome by the Brain Institute’s Director Kerstin Schmidt
9:00
Panta rhei: the importance of silent synapses for vision and visual plasticity
Prof. Siegrid Löwel, PhD
Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach-Institute for Zoology and Anthropology
Göttingen Campus Institute for Dynamics of Biological Networks
10:00
Data blitz 1 (flash talks, 15 min)
10:15
Coffebreak with poster session (session 1)
11:00
Entrainment Dynamics in Early Visual Processing
Sergio Neuenschwander, PhD
ICe-UFRN
11:30
From interhemispheric integration to visual perception
Kerstin Schmidt, PhD
ICe-UFRN
12:00
Peephole: using a psychophysics experiment to teach visual perception
Claudio Queiroz, PhD
ICe-UFRN
12:15
Lunch
14:00
Neural and computational principles of sound source locatization
Rodrigo Pavão, PhDUFABC
14:30
Touch Without Primary Somatosensory Maps: Decision Making at the Edge of
Sensory Loss
Aron Miranda Henqiues-Alves, PhD
ICe-UFRN
15:00
Subspace communication in the hippocampal-retrosplenial axis
Joaquin Gonzalez
ICe-UFRN/NYU
15:30
Coffebreak with poster session (session 1)
17:00
Higher-order effects of psychedelics: beyond pairwise interactions
between cortical regions of the brain
Prof. Gandhimohan M Viswanathan, Ph.D.
FIS – UFRN
17:45
First Chess Tournament
19:00
CLOSING DAY 01
DAY 02 – DECEMBER 12
8:30
Data blitz 2 (flash talks, 15 min)
9:00
Cell-type specific molecular and functional consequences of TDP-43
loss-of-function in human induced neurons
Marcos Romualdo Costa, PhD
ICe-UFRN
9:30
Influence of Zika virus infection on the maturation of the cerebral
GABAergic system
Bruna Lorena de Melo Marcelino
ICe-UFRN
9:45
Characterisation of a synthetic analogue of psilocin (UL 001): chemical,
electrophysiological, and behavioural analysis in a murine model
Mikaela dos Anjos Adur
ICe-UFRN
10:00
Coffebreak with poster session (session 2)
11:00
A vocal teaching system in marmoset monkeys
Daniel Y Takahashi
ICe-UFRN
11:15
Ethology as a tool to understand the multidimension of chronic pain
Laura de Oliveira Koren
ICe-UFRN
11:30
Experience-dependent remodeling of the extracellular matrix
regulates perceptual skill learning and memory
Jessica Winne Rodrigues de Freitas, PhD
ICe-UFRN
11:45
Pursuing reconsolidation in ethanol-CPP: memory reactivation in different
conditions did not trigger destabilization
Flávia Zacouteguy Boos, PhD
ICe-UFRN
12:15
Lunch
14:00
Biomarker changes in the treatment of depression with ayahuasca
Abhranil Das, PhD
ICe-UFRN
14:30
Investigating psychoactive tryptamines as stimulators of neuronal
plasticity, with a focus on hippocampal neurogenesis
Rafael Lima, PhD
ICe-UFRN
14:45
A smart camera for automatic respiration and reflex estimation in neonates
Aline Elvina Rodrigues Fernandes
ICe-UFRN
15:00
Multisensory activities and school naps to overcome letter mirroring in
early lteracy:adaption of a protocol for the classroom
Flora Assaf de Sousa
ICe-UFRN
15:15
Designing Titanium Head-Fixation Prostheses for NHPs Without MRI/CT
Estevão Carlos-Lima, PhD
ICe-UFRN
15:30
Coffebreak with poster session (session 2)
17:00
Dynamics and Evolutionary Transformations of Cortical Circuitry
Prof. Fred Wolf, PhD
Göttingen Campus Institute for Dynamics of Biological Networks
Max-Planck-Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization
18:00
Closing remarks
18:30
Happy hour @ Mahalila
Organizing Committee
CLAUDIO QUEIROZ
Professor, Brain Institute – UFRN
TARCISO VELHO
Professor, Brain Institute – UFRN
KERSTIN SCHMIDT
Full Professor, Brain Institute – UFRN
Events Committee
Brain Institute – UFRN
First Chess Tournament
SAT|ELITTE EVENT
We are pleased to announce the 2025 House Symposium Chess Tournament, a special social event that will take place within the House Symposium, on December 11th (Thursday), starting at 5:30 PM, immediately after the end of the first day.
The goal of this tournament is to offer a lighthearted and engaging activity for our community. An opportunity to unwind, enjoy a friendly challenge, and strengthen interactions across research groups in an informal setting. Which laboratory will take home the title of this first edition?
The tournament will follow a Swiss-system format, with 7 rounds and a time control of 5 minutes + 3 seconds per move. Registration is mandatory for all participants and can be completed through the Google Form available at the link below. Please register in advance so we can organize the boards and matchups efficiently.
We encourage everyone, from Master’s and PhD students to postdocs, technicians, faculty, and staff, to join us for this moment of strategy, fun, and community building. The success of this activity depends on the participation and enthusiasm of our community, and we hope this tournament becomes yet another memorable part of the House Symposium experience.
For any questions or suggestions, please write to sergioruschi@neuro.ufrn.br
Warm regards,
The Organizing Committee