WG4 is holding their first Working Group 4 meeting in Pécs, Hungary, on 24-25 June 2026. The meeting will bring together researchers working on comparative approaches to affective states, behavior, and treatment assessment across animal species. 

The scientific program will feature presentations on affective state and treatment assessment in diverse animal groups, as well as discussions on current treatment approaches that may be applicable across species. Topics will range from evolutionary and comparative perspectives on emotional processes, sensory mechanisms underlying responses to favorable and noxious stimuli, and the characterization of anxiety- and depression-like states in simpler nervous systems, to the translational relevance of rodent models of affect. The meeting will also explore behavioral interventions, including cognitive training approaches and evidence for transfer effects of memory training across species. The event will aim to provide an opportunity for interdisciplinary exchange and the development of new comparative frameworks for understanding affective processes and their treatment across the animal kingdom.