The decision to organise a joint EBBS-EBPS meeting in Marseille was made two years ago by the Committees of these two FENS societies. Among the reasons for planning such an event, the attempt to promote multi-dimensional approaches on common themes and the pleasure to meet friends as well.

The idea was to have each society organising symposia possibly on themes ofa common interest. The programme included 8 outstanding plenary lectures, 120 speakers presenting their work in 30 symposia dealing with range of issues in the field of cognitive neuroscience, and 360 poster presentations. A total of 573 delegates from many countries (European Community, Eastern Europe, USA, Canada, Russia, Brazil, Japan, …) attended the meeting. Many of them were young scientists receiving bursaries from the European Community. Also, we were delighted to install Jan Bures and elect Jacques Paillard honorary members of the EBBS.

Though the memory of this event will remain definitively associated with the terrorist attacks, it can be said, from a strictly scientific perspective, that the meeting was a success. Many topics of symposia raised interest and promoted exchanges between EBBS and EBPS members. Certainly, the place where the meeting took place - ideally overlooking the old harbour of Marseille - offered the right space for lectures, symposia, posters and social events. More than any description, pictures from the banquet organised on September 10 give an idea of the cheerful mood of this evening.