Neurorobotic models in neuroscience and neuroinformatics

ConclusionThe meeting concluded with a general discussion which reflected that the day had provided a great deal of intellectual stimulation, thanks in large part to the excellence of the invited talks, and had strengthened the belief of many that neurorobotic modeling is an in dispensable and uniquely insightful method in the new neurosciences. This view was even shared by some participants without previous exposure to neurorobotics, whose attendance was the result of earlier salesmanship. Although varied in their experience with neurorobotics, the participants, all experts in their own right, were uniformly incisive and enlightening during the question and discussion periods, and the workshop could not have been successful without their involvement. Indeed, the discussion carried on well past the scheduled close of the meeting, finally petering out in the small ours of the following day in the back room of the king’s Head in downtown Santa Monica. For even in Los Angeles, a good British pub is the only place for these things.The present Special Issue contains a set of papers based on a selection of the presentations described above. We are very grateful to the editors of Neuroinformatics for preserving and disseminating the scientific content of the workshop by publishing these articles. Although not all speakers are represented, we have included papers reflecting each of the four themes, and we believe that their combination in a single volume will serve the same purpose for the peadership of Neuroinformatics that the workshop served for its attendees: To reveal neurorobotic modeling as a central methodology in the neurosciences of the 21st century.