I am extraordinarily pleased to have been asked by Drs. Christensen and Uzzell to write the foreword for this handbook. This handbook is the result of the most recent of a series of con ferences held in Copenhagen, Denmark, at five-year intervals over the past 15 years, under the guidance and leadership of Dr. Anne-Lise Christensen, and under the sponsorship of the Egmont Foundation, which must be acknowledged as well for its constant support of this in ternational effort. The participants in these conferences are all internationally renowned clinicians and sci entists. These experts represent not only the area of neuropsychology, but disciplines ranging from fundamental neurophysiology and neuroanatomy, to medical and financial perspectives on neurological injury and recovery. The participants have, to a significant extent, remained re markably constant over this period, and this has allowed increasing intimacy among them both professionally and personally. One felicitous result of this camaraderie has been that the con ferences have evolved with an increased focus on topics of the broadest interest across disci plines. One aspect of such a continuing dialogue across disciplines is that specific areas of mutual interest are explored in depth, allowing cross-fertilization of ideas to occur.
