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.