Entertainment Software and Cognitive Neurotherapeutics Society to Host ESCoNS 2 [Professional Services Close - Up]

(Professional Services Close - Up Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) The Entertainment Software and Cognitive Neurotherapeutics Society announced that ESCoNS 2, its next conference and meeting, will be held on March 15-17 at the University of Southern California.

According to a release, ESCoNS 2 is hosted in partnership with USC's School of Cinematic Arts Interactive Media Division and its Game Innovation Lab, an experimental game design and research lab headed by Tracy Fullerton Associate Professor and Chair of the Interactive Media Division.

The purpose of ESCoNS 2 is to push the edge of collaboration between neuroscience and game industry by commencing a series of coordinated efforts designed to make cognitive neurotherapeutics a reality.

The event was conceived by George Rose, Founder, The Rose Family Foundation; and Sophia Vinogradov, Associate Chief of Staff for Mental Health, San Francisco Veterans Administration Medical Center; Professor and Vice-Chair, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco The organizing committee and the scientific advisory board for ESCoNS includes Adam Gazzaley, Associate Professor of Neurology, Physiology and Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco; Daphne Bavelier, Professor, Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Center for Visual Science. Center for Language Studies and Director, Mind- Space Laboratory at the University of Rochester Medical Center; Laird Malamed, Adjunct Professor, USC School of Cinematic Arts, Interactive Media Division; Mor Nahum, Senior Brain Plasticity Research Fellow, Brain Plasticity Inc.; and Takeo Watanabe, Professor of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences at Brown University.

ESCoNS is fostering cognitive neurotherapeutics, an approach to mapping and training the brain to improve cognitive function and capacity through interactive gameplay. By gathering the collective strengths of scientists, researchers and video game providers, ESCoNS and its partners.

"Our first ESCoNS meeting in 2011 was an unmitigated and well- deserved success that has put our efforts on the scientific map. We had over 220 attendees - scientists, clinicians, officials from the National Institute of Health and the Department of Defense, leaders of the video game industry and the scientific media. We all had one purpose - to learn from each other and create a whole new and exciting field of 'cognitive neurotherapeutics'- and we certainly succeeded," said Vinogradov.

"The ESCoNS conference was born to address complex issues by bridging the chasm between video game developers and neuroscientists. We are making tremendous strides as the key stakeholders work toward the advancement of video game technology for science, education and medicine," said Rose. "We are creating a new industry by mixing the latest research on the brain, supported by hard-science with technological advancements in interactive gaming." "I believe that technology provides the answers to many of the world's most pressing problems. As we continue to pour billions of dollars into a failing education system, for example, that seeks to advance teaching methodologies, it is time we flipped the model on its head," said Naveen Jain, CEO, inome and keynote speaker at this year's ESCoNS event. "Instead, let's focus on our 'learners.' The brain constantly evolves to its surroundings and rewires itself at any age. By triggering the brain using videogames and other interactive software solutions, we can improve its processing speed, as well as decision-making and spatial skills." "We have a major scientific issue that involves one of the greatest frontiers in medicine benefited by products that have already become a household staple - videogames," Rose said. "Interactive products have become the new language of younger generations, a way of expression. But games also provide us with a window into interactive cognitive therapies that can address pain, brain dysfunction and other illnesses with dramatic results." ESCoNS 2 will feature four half-day sessions addressing a range of topics as vast as the brain itself, including computerized brain training, brain plasticity measurement, game design, motivated targeted behaviors, funding opportunities for academic-industry partnerships, and business development in the field of cognitive therapeutics, or brain therapy.

Attendees will also be invited to numerous workshops on the principles of successful game design for therapeutic applications and a presentation of works dedicated to showcasing new computerized therapeutic tools.

Support comes from the National Institute of Health and the National Institute of Mental Health, Lumos Labs, E-Line Media, The Brain Plasticity Institute, inova, The Staglin Family and One Mind for Research Foundation, Games for Health, Autism Speaks, and the law firms of Greenberg Traurig and SoCal IP Law Group.

Tara Miller of The Miller Events and her staff is the organizer.

The Rose Family Foundation is committed to the belief that video game technology will help us understand and solve some problems in areas such as medicine and education.

Event information: escons.org/ ((Comments on this story may be sent to newsdesk@closeupmedia.com)) (c) 2013 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved.

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