EACH year at the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Annual Meeting in October, Anesthesiology sponsors a special Journal Symposium to highlight recent work in an area that is important to both the science and the practice of our specialty. Specific areas of focus in the past have included awareness during anesthesia, the biology of sleep, acute respiratory failure, preconditioning against ischemia and reperfusion injury, pharmacogenomics and anesthesia, and, in 2005, plasticity in postoperative pain. The Symposium typically features three or four invited lectures by international experts within and outside our specialty as well as a formal poster session. The posters are selected by a group of Anesthesiology editors from all of the thousands of abstracts submitted to the meeting.

The Journal Symposium for October 2006 is entitled

“Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction”

This is something of interest, and sometimes concern, to both clinicians and patients. We have all heard a great deal about the subject in recent years, and yet there are far more questions than answers. How do we unambiguously define “dysfunction”? Is this a real problem or a situation where there is “more heat than light”? How do we detect it and track it (what neuropsychological tests are reasonable and appropriate and which are not)? How common is it, and in what patients undergoing what procedures? Is it “postanesthetic dysfunction,” or does anesthesia play any role at all? Because postoperative cognitive dysfunction is most common in the elderly, how do we distinguish it from the normal effects of aging? What are the underlying mechanisms? Is it preventable or treatable?

Investigators from around the world with an interest in this subject are encouraged to submit their work to the ASA for the Annual Meeting. Abstracts from both basic and clinical sciences are encouraged. Studies examining or evaluating neurocognitive testing methodology, intraoperative factors influencing postoperative cognitive dysfunction, imaging studies, interventional trials, or epidemiology—as well as basic laboratory studies regarding the broad subject of perioperative neurobiology or mechanisms of nonischemic injury—are particularly welcome. Abstracts will be selected for inclusion in the Symposium by organizers Michael M. Todd, M.D., of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, Iowa, Editor-in-Chief, Anesthesiology, and Mervyn Maze, M.B., Ch.B., Imperial College, London, England, Editor, Anesthesiology. Abstracts should be submitted via  the usual on-line process (which can be accessed via  the Web sites www.asahq.organd www.anesethesiology.org). Interested individuals should be sure to check the special box for Journal Symposium to be considered for inclusion in this special Symposium poster discussion. The deadline for abstract submission is April 1, 2006.

The authors of abstracts that are selected for the Symposium will also be offered an opportunity to submit their work to Anesthesiology for inclusion in the special Symposium issue to be published in March 2007.

Anesthesiology, in conjunction with the American Society of Critical Care Anesthesiologists (ASCCA), is pleased to announce a special session at the 2006 ASA Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois. This forum will serve two purposes. The first is to highlight new and innovative research in critical care medicine. Of even greater importance is our desire to promote the value of mentored research training. To this end, the session will feature (with posters) oral presentations by junior investigators (i.e. , those with a rank of Assistant Professor or below and less than 7 yr in rank) whose work has direct bearing on the art and science of critical care. Each investigator’s talk will be followed by a short presentation by his or her mentor. The mentor’s talk will highlight how the presented work fits into the overall scheme of investigation in the mentor’s laboratory and how it will contribute to our understanding of any aspect of critical care medicine. Participation by the audience will be encouraged.

Investigators involved in all types of research, including but not limited to basic science, clinical investigations, outcomes-based studies, epidemiology, and safety-oriented investigations, are invited to submit their best work for consideration. A committee consisting of journal editors and representatives of the ASCCA will select the abstracts and presenters for this session. Our goal is to gather a large number of individuals with an interest in critical care and its importance to the practice of anesthesiology.

Abstracts should be submitted on-line to the ASA Annual Meeting using the standard on-line process (which can be accessed via  the Web sites www.asahq.organd www.anesthesiology.org). Select Critical Care as the major subject area. In addition, authors should notify the Anesthesiology Editorial Office via  e-mail (anesthesiology@uiowa.edu) regarding their interest in being considered for the specific session. The deadline for abstract submission is April 1, 2006.

The authors of abstracts that are selected for the Journal/ASCCA session will also be offered an opportunity to submit their work to Anesthesiology for inclusion in a special issue to be published in 2007.

Anesthesiology and the Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology (SOAP) are extremely interested in highlighting new and innovative research in the field of obstetric anesthesia. We are therefore jointly organizing a special session during the ASA Annual Meeting, October 14–18, 2006, in Chicago, Illinois.

This will be an oral presentation session (without posters). A committee consisting of journal editors and representatives of SOAP will select the abstracts and presenters for this session. Authors will then be invited to prepare a formal 10-min oral presentation of their work. Experts in the appropriate areas will be invited to participate in the discussion of each presentation. Our goal is to gather as many individuals with an interest in obstetric anesthesia as possible to participate in this session and to present the most innovative laboratory and clinical research available today.

Abstracts should be submitted to the ASA Annual Meeting using the standard on-line process (which can be accessed via  the Web sites www.asahq.organd www.anesthesiology.org). Select Obstetric Anesthesia as the major subject area. In addition, authors should notify the Anesthesiology Editorial Office via  e-mail (anesthesiology@uiowa.edu) regarding their interest in being considered for the specific session. The deadline for abstract submission is April 1, 2006.

The authors of abstracts that are selected for the Journal/SOAP session will also be offered an opportunity to submit their work to Anesthesiology for inclusion in a special issue to be published in 2007.

We look forward to seeing many of our fellow researchers and clinicians at these three valuable and interesting sessions. An announcement regarding abstracts and speakers, as well as the location, date, and time, will appear in the September 2006 issue of Anesthesiology.