Scientific organizers: Yang Dan (University of California, Berkeley), Michael Häusser (University College, London), Massimo Scanziani (University of California, San Diego)
Local organizer: Kathy-Ann Koralek, Verona, Italy

This School will introduce students to a revolution currently underway in how we interrogate neural circuits in order to understand the way in which they drive behaviour. We call this revolution “causal neuroscience”, because it aims to harness new technologies for manipulation of neural circuits in order to provide direct causal links between circuit elements - such as channels, synapses, specific cell types, cell assemblies - and behaviour. The convergence of novel genetic, molecular, physiological, optical and behavioural approaches now provides us with the ability not only to monitor activity across genetically-defined ensembles of neurons in behaving animals, but crucially also to manipulate this activity in a temporally and spatially precise manner. Moreover, these new approaches are becoming sufficiently powerful to allow decisive tests of theoretical models, and are poised to provide new insight into the dynamics of neural circuits and our understanding of the neural code. The School builds on a very successful School held in 2011, and will inspire a new generation of young investigators by bringing them together with the leading figures in this emerging field of `causal neuroscience`.