The thirteenth Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Neurotrophic Factors will provide a multidisciplinary and intimate environment for discussing the latest advances in the field of neurotrophic factors. The 2017 meeting is based upon the idea that if we can understand basic cellular and molecular mechanisms of neurotrophic factor actions, then we can employ those lessons to understand how these factors influence behavior and disease. The meeting therefore includes sessions on the basic biology of neurotrophic factors (neurotrophin signaling, regulation of PNS and CNS development by neurotrophic factors, growth factors and neural stem cells, intracellular trafficking and local signaling, and mechanisms of axonal growth and degeneration), together with sessions describing their involvement in plasticity, behavior and disease. In addition, this meeting will provide opportunities for young investigators to present their data to the neurotrophic factors community through posters and talks. The overarching goal of this meeting is to bring together scientists working on these different aspects of neurotrophic factor biology, and that this will lead to new intellectual insights, collaborations, and a fuller understanding of how neurotrophic factors impact neural development and function.