International Society for Neurochemistry
The ISN School, Xi’an 2012, February 13-17th, 2012
Call for applications for financial support,
deadline: February 1st, 2012
The ISN School (Xi’an, 2012) is now accepting applications for financial support.
Please send your application and references to:
brain973@fmmu.edu.cn or ifbdlab@fmmu.edu.cn
Tel/Fax: 86 29 84777945
The applications for participation in the ISN School (Xi’an, 2012) will be limited to those
within the Asian-Pacific region and can be submitted to the Local Organizing Committee
(LOC) and selected by a School Organizing Committee formed by the members of the
APSN and the LOC who are responsible for review of at least two letters of
recommendations from faculties of department or university where the applicants are
working and applicants’ CVs. Decisions will be made according to priority of applicants
plus a first-in and last-out principle.
The ISN School (Xi’an, 2012) will be jointly sponsored by International Society for
Neurochemistry (ISN), Asian-Pacific Society for Neurochemistry (APSN), Subcommittee
of Basic Science of Pain of China Chapter of International Association for the Study of
Pain (BSP-CASP), Translational Neuroscience Subcommittee of Chinese Associations
of Physiological Sciences (TN-CAPS), Chinese Society for Neuroscience (CSfN) and
will be organized with the support of the Institute for Biomedical Sciences of Pain (IBSP)
and the Institute for Functional Brain Disorders (IFBD), The Fourth Military Medical
University (FMMU) and The FMMU Tangdu Hospital.
The IBSP, in conjunction with the IFBD, is a scientific research body co-founded in
January 2005 and is located and financially supported by University Tangdu Hospital of
FMMU, in Xi’an city. The main project of the IBSP and the IFBD is to set up an
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advanced technical platform for translational research on pain, stress, drug addiction,
epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease from molecules to brain
networks and behaviors. The IBSP will provide lecture rooms and laboratory facilities
and technical aids required by the hands-on procedures during the whole period of the
school.
1.
Contact person:
Name(s): Professor Jun Chen
Address(s): Institute for Biomedical Sciences of Pain & Institute for Functional Brain Disorders,
Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, #1 Xinsi Road, Xi’an
710038, PR China
Tel No(s): +86-29-84777942
Fax No(s): +86-29-84777945
Email address(es): junchen@fmmu.edu.cn; chenjun@ccmu.edu.cn
2.
Theme of School:
ISN School, Xi’an 2012
Pain: Neurochemical, electrophysiological and behavioral correlates
3.
Place and date of the school:
 Venue : Institute for Biomedical Sciences of Pain & Institute for Functional Brain Disorders,
Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, #1 Xinsi Road, Xi’an 710038, PR China

4.
Date : ISN School, Xi’an 2012 is to be held during February 13-17th, 2012
Why select a topic of pain:
The problems of pain, in particular, chronic pain, are an increasing burden on healthcare systems
and society at large. Population-based epidemiological studies suggest 20-30% people over the
globe suffer from chronic pain and/or pain-associated morbidities, such as insomnia, amnesia,
cognitive decline, disabilities, and even depression. Now, it has become apparent that some
neurochemical changes at the molecular (ion channels, neurotransmitters and receptors, protein
kinases, etc.) and cellular (synapses, neurons, astrocytes, microglia, myelinating cells) levels
initiated and maintained by the persistence of pain might be tightly associated with the
pathophysiological processes of chronic pain and development of its morbidities, leading to
dysfunction of the nervous system, especially the neural networks in the brain that result in
abnormal behaviors of the sufferers.
To bridge the gap of changes between neurochemical substrates and neural networks / behaviors
associated with pain, the main objective of the ISN School (Xi’an 2012) is to provide a platform
enabling junior researchers, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students from fields of both
neurochemical research and pain research to meet and exchange ideas and experiences.
Meanwhile, we will invite world renowned researchers from both fields to teach the updated
knowledge of pain and advanced behavioral, molecular and neurochemical techniques so as to
enable participants to acquire new ideas and to learn new techniques and methods that may be
beneficial to their future research.
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5.
Name of body organising the school and names of the members of the organising
committee:
Organizers:
 Asian-Pacific Society for Neurochemistry (APSN)
 Institute for Biomedical Sciences of Pain (IBSP) and Institute for Functional Brain Disorders
(IFBD), Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University (FMMU)
School Organizing Committee:
 Members from the APSN :
Peter T.-H. Wong, Singapore (APSN President)
Yukio Yoneda, Japan (APSN Secretary)
Andrew Lawrence, Australia (APSN Treasurer)
Akio Wanaka, Japan (APSN School Chair)
Ying-Shing Chan, Hong Kong (APSN Council member)
Xiao-Min Wang, China (APSN Council member)

6.
Members of Local Organizing Committee (LOC):
Qian Wang, FMMU (Vice President)
Wei-Hong Yin, FMMU (Chief of Scientific Research Department)
Sheng-Xi Wu, FMMU (Vice Chief of Scientific Research Department)
Ying-Ming Feng, FMMU (Dean of Graduate School)
Yong-Sheng Zhang, FMMU Tangdu Hospital (Dean)
Xia Jin, FMMU Tangdu Hospital (Vice Dean)
Jun Yuan, FMMU Tangdu Hospital (Chief of Department of Medicine, Education and
Scientific Research)
Gong Ju, FMMU (CAS Member, Professor and Chair of Department of Neurobiology)
Jun Chen, FMMU Tangdu Hospital (Professor and Chair of the IBSP, Vice Chair of the
IFBD)
San-Jue Hu, FMMU (Professor of Department of Neurobiology)
Yun-Qing Li, FMMU (Professor and Chair of Department of Anatomy)
Liang-Wei Chen, FMMU (Professor of Department of Neurobiology)
Ming-Gao Zhao, FMMU (Professor and Chair of Department of Pharmacology)
Guo-Dong Gao, FMMU Tangdu Hospital (Professor and Chair of Department of
Neurosurgery, Chair of the IFBD)
Zhu-Yi Li, FMMU Tangdu Hospital (Professor and Chair of Department of Neurology)
Hui-Zhong Zhang, FMMU Tangdu Hospital (Professor and Chair of Clinical Laboratory
Center)
Wei Zhang, FMMU Tangdu Hospital (Professor and Chair of Department of Clinical
Pathology)
Gang Zhao, FMMU Xijing Hospital (Professor and Chair of Department of Neurological
Diseases)
Qing-Rong Tan, FMMU Xijing Hospital (Professor and Chair of Department of Psychiatry)
Yan Lu, FMMU Xijing Hospital (Professor of Department of Anesthesiology)
Zhen Li, FMMU Tangdu Hospital (Lecturer of IBSP)
Yao-Qing Yu, FMMU Tangdu Hospital (Lecturer of IBSP)
School program (day by day activities):
The ISN School (Xi’an, 2012) will provide a 5-day program including both comprehensive lectures and
hands-on techniques associated with neurochemical, electrophysiological and behavioral correlates of
pain.
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Sunday, February 12th，2012: AM8 :00-PM12 :00 registration & Hotel check-in
Day 1 : Monday, February 13th，2012
8 :20- 8 :30
Photo-taking
8 :30- 9 :00
Opening ceremony
9 :00-10 :00
Lecture 1 : Overview of advances in neurobiology of pain
10 :00-11 :00
Lab orientation followed by coffee/tea break
(1) Interactions between school faculties and students
11 :00-12 :00
(2) Hands-on grouping (3 hours per unit, 5 participants/group, only one
module for each participant)
Module 1: Behavioral + Neurochemical (5 units)
Group 1 - Preparation of animal models of pain (1 unit)
Group 2 - Behavioral assays of pain (1 unit)
Group 3 - 32-channel multi-electrode-array recordings of somatosensory
cortex in behaving rats suffering from acute pain (only demo, 1 units)
Group 4 – Immunocytochemistry+Confocal microscopy, Western blot, RTPCR assays of brain tissues of rats (3 units)
Module 2: Behavioral + Electrophysiological 1 (5 units)
Group 1 - Preparation of animal models of pain (1 unit)
Group 2 - Behavioral assays of pain (1 unit)
Group 3 - 32-channel multi-electrode-array recordings of somatosensory
cortex in behaving rats suffering from acute pain (only demo, 1 units)
Group 5 - Preparation of culture cell samples for whole cell patchclamp
recordings and Ca2+ imaging (2 units)
Module 3: Behavioral+ Electrophysiological 2 (5 units)
Group 1 - Preparation of animal models of pain (1 unit)
Group 2 - Behavioral assays of pain (1 unit)
Group 3 - 32-channel multi-electrode-array recordings of somatosensory
cortex in behaving rats suffering from acute pain (only demo, 1 units)
Group 6 - In vitro 64-channel (8x8) multi-electrode array or patchclamp
recordings of synaptic plasticity (2 units)
12 :00-14 :00
14 :00-17 :00
Lunch
Group 1 - Preparation of animal models of pain (1 unit)
Group 2 - Behavioral assays of pain (1 unit)
Group 3 - 32-channel multi-electrode-array recordings of somatosensory
cortex in behaving rats suffering from acute pain (only demo, 1 units)
Group 4 – Immunocytochemistry+Confocal microscopy, Western blot, RTPCR assays of brain tissues of rats (3 units)
Group 5 - Preparation of culture cell samples for whole cell patchclamp
recordings and Ca2+ imaging (2 units)
Group 6 - In vitro 64-channel (8x8) multi-electrode array or patchclamp
recordings of synaptic plasticity (2 units)
17 :00-18 :00
18 :00-20 :00
Technical lecture 1: Advances in in vivo multi-electrode-array recording
techniques
Welcome dinner (sponsored by IBSP)
Day 2 : Tuesday, February 14th, 2012
9 :00-10 :00
Lecture 2 : Brain imaging of pain in humans
10 :00-12 :00
Practical groups1 – 6 switch over
4
12 :00-14 :00
14 :00-17 :00
Lunch
Practical groups1 – 6 switch over
17 :00-18 :00
Technical lecture 2: Advances in in vitro multi-electrode-array recording
techniques
Dinner and city night seeings (organized by IBSP)
18 :00-21 :00
Day 3 : Wednesday, February 15th, 2012
9 :00-10 :00
Lecture 3 : Animal studies of pain
10 :00-12 :00
Practical groups1 – 6 switch over
12 :00-14 :00
Lunch
14 :00-17 :00
Practical groups1 – 6 switch over
17 :00-18 :00
Technical lecture 3: Brain slice patchclamp recordings in pain research
18 :00-21 :00
Dinner
Day 4 : Thursday, February 16th，2012
9 :00-10 :00
Lecture 4 : Pain-related synaptic plasticity in the brain
10 :00-12 :00
Practical groups1 – 6 switch over
12 :00-13 :00
Lunch
13 :00-14 :00
ISN featured lecture : ‘How to prepare a 10 min talk’
14 :00-17 :00
Practical groups1 – 6 switch over
17 :00-18 :00
Technical lecture 4: Molecular approaches used in pain research
18 :00-21 :00
Farewell dinner (organized by IBSP)
Day 5 : Friday, February 17th，2012
9 :00-10 :00
Presentation by school participants
10 :00-15 :00
Optional social activities (Transportation provided by IBSP free but need
to pay the entry ticket) :
visiting Emperor Qin’s Museum of Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses
(110.00 RMB Yuan/each)
15 :00
Oversea faculties and students can arrange flights according to this
schedule
Comments by faculties and students:
7.
Names and affiliations of School Faculty:
Overseas Faculties (supported by ISN):
Professor Makoto Tominaga, M.D., Ph.D.
Division of Cell Signaling
Okazaki Institute for Integrative Bioscience
(National Institute for Physiological Sciences)
5
National Institutes of Natural Sciences
Higashiyama 5-1, Myodaiji
Okazaki, Aichi 444-8787 JAPAN
Phone: +81-564-59-5286 (Office), -5287 & -5288 (Lab), Fax: +81-564-59-5285
e-mail: tominaga@nips.ac.jp
Professor Emiko Senba
Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology
Wakayama Medical University
811-1 Kimiidera, Wakayama City
Wakayama 641-8509, Japan
Tel & Fax: +81-73-441-0617
e-mail:esenba@wakayama-med.ac.jp
Professor Bai-Chuang Shyu
Division of Neuroscience
Institute of Biomedical Sciences
Academia Sinica
Taipei, 11529, Taiwan
Tel: 886-2-26523915
Fax: 886-2-27829224
e-mail: bmbai@gate.sinica.edu.tw
Professor Akio Wanaka
Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience
Nara Medical University School of Medicine
840 Shijo-cho, Kashihara City
Nara, 634-8521, Japan
Tel:+81-744-22-3051
Fax: +81-74-29-8825
e-mail: akiow@naramed-u.ac.jp
Professor Andrew J. Lawrence, PhD, FBPharmacolS
NHMRC Senior Research Fellow
Howard Florey Institute
Centre for Neuroscience
University of Melbourne
Tel: 03 8344 0414; Mobile: 0431 267795
e-mail: andrew.lawrence@florey.edu.au
Professor Peter T.-H. Wong
Department of Pharmacology
Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine
National University of Singapore
MD11, 10 Medical Drive, Singapore 117597
65-6516 3224/3266 (DID); 65-6773 0579 (Fax)
e-mail : peter_wong@nuhs.edu.sg
Local Faculties:
Faculties outside Xi’an (supported by ISN)
Professor Ji-Sheng Han MD
CAS Member and Professor
Neuroscience Research Institute
Peking University
6
Beijing, PR China
e-mail: hanjisheng@bjmu.edu.cn
Professor Zhi-Qi Zhao PhD
Professor
Institute of Brain Science
Fudan University
Shanghai, PR China
e-mail: zqzhao@fudan.edu.cn
Professor Yong-Hua Ji PhD
School of Life Science
Shanghai University
Shanghai, PR China
e-mail: yhji@staff.shu.edu.cn
Professor Longnian Lin, Ph.D.
Professor
Institute of Brain Functional Genomics
East China Normal University
e-mail : lnlin@brain.ecnu.edu.cn
Professor Jia-Shuang Wang
Department of Pain Medicine
Red Cross Hospital
Ninan University
Guangzhou, PR China
e-mail: wangjs994@yahoo.com.cn
LOC faculties (supported by LOC)
Jun Chen MD, PhD
Professor and Chair
Institute for Biomedical Sciences of Pain
Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University
Xi’an, PR China
e-mail: junchen@fmmu.edu.cn
Yan Lu MD PhD
Professor
Department of Anesthesiology
Xijing Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University
Xi’an, PR China
e-mail: yanlu001@fmmu.edu.cn
Sheng-Xi Wu MD, PhD
Professor
Department of Anatomy
The Fourth Military Medical University
Xi’an, PR China
e-mail : shengxi@fmmu.edu.cn
Ming-Gao Zhao MD PhD
Professor and Chair
Department of Pharmacology
The Fourth Military Medical University
7
Xi’an, PR China
e-mail : minggao@fmmu.edu.cn
Hui Xu, MD, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Neurobiology
The Fourth Military Medical University
Xi’an, PR China
e-mail : xubz@fmmu.edu.cn
Ceng Luo PhD
Lecturer
Department of Neurobiology
The Fourth Military Medical University
Xi’an, PR China
e-mail : luoceng@fmmu.edu.cn
Zhen Li MD PhD
Lecturer
Institute for Biomedical Sciences of Pain
Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University
Xi’an, PR China
e-mail: lizhen75227@yahoo.com.cn
Yao-Qing Yu MD PhD
Lecturer
Institute for Biomedical Sciences of Pain
Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University
Xi’an, PR China
e-mail : yyq7803@163.com
IBSP:
Office Secretary: Xue-Bing Li, Ya-Juan Yin
Technicians: Yan Wan, Xue-Feng Chen, Chun-Li Li, Ying-Li Wang, Yong Xiao, Fan Yang, Yan Yang,
Xiao-Liang Wang
Doctoral students: Fang Xie, Zhen-Yu Zhao, Han Fu
Master students: Yan Xu, Jia-Rui Zhang, Yun-Fei Lu, Rui-Rui Wang, Fei Yang
8.
Estimated number of students, estimated international and national distribution, and
activities at the school (e.g. number of expected students, lectures, laboratory modules,
posters, etc)

Estimated number of students and distribution:
National (China) =10
Asian-Pacific region =20
 The school activities at the school
The school includes 8 1-hour lectures (4 lectures and 4 technical lectures), and 3 laboratory
hands-on modules. Each laboratory module is composed of 5 units & one unit lasts 3 hours. Totally,
lecture time=8 hours, laboratory hands-on module time=45 hours. For details see as follows:
Lectures and technical lectures :
8
Lecture 1 : Overview of advances in neurobiology of pain
Lecture 2 : Brain imaging of pain in humans
Lecture 3 : Animal studies of pain
Lecture 4 : Pain-related synaptic plasticity in the brain
ISN featured lecture : ‘How to prepare a 10 min talk’
Technical lecture 1: Advances in in vivo multi-electrode-array recording techniques
Technical lecture 2: Advances in in vitro multi-electrode-array recording techniques
Technical lecture 3: Brain slice patchclamp recordings in pain research
Technical lecture 4: Molecular approaches used in pain research
Laboratory hands-on modules:
Module 1: Behavioral+ Neurochemical (5 units)
Group 1 - Preparation of animal models of pain (1 unit)
Group 2 - Behavioral assays of pain (1 unit)
Group 3 - 32-channel multi-electrode-array recordings of somatosensory cortex in behaving rats suffering
from acute pain (only demo, 1 units)
Group 4 – Immunocytochemistry+Confocal microscopy, Western blot, RT-PCR assays of brain tissues of
rats (3 units)
Module 2: Behavioral+ Electrophysiological 1 (5 units)
Group 1 - Preparation of animal models of pain (1 unit)
Group 2 - Behavioral assays of pain (1 unit)
Group 3 - 32-channel multi-electrode-array recordings of somatosensory cortex in behaving rats suffering
from acute pain (only demo, 1 units)
Group 5 - Preparation of culture cell samples for whole cell patchclamp recordings and Ca2+ imaging (2
units)
Module 3: Behavioral+ Electrophysiological 2 (5 units)
Group 1 - Preparation of animal models of pain (1 unit)
Group 2 - Behavioral assays of pain (1 unit)
Group 3 - 32-channel multi-electrode-array recordings of somatosensory cortex in behaving rats suffering
from acute pain (only demo, 1 units)
Group 6 - In vitro 64-channel (8x8) multi-electrode array or patchclamp recordings of synaptic plasticity (3
units)
 School students’ oral presentations
In the morning session on the school Day 5, 6 students, two from each laboratory module will be
selected to present summaries of their experimental results. Each oral presentation will be limited
to 10 min. Three of the 6 presentations will be awarded as gold, silver and bronze medals. Poster
presentations of their own research from home is encouraged and poster discussion time will be
arranged according to the number of posters.
9