The 3rd Mediterranean Conference of Neuroscience was held in  Alexandria, Egypt, on December 13-16, 2009 and was a great success. Hosted by the prestigious international cultural symbol, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, it gathered more than 250 participants from not only Mediterranean countries but also from Asia, northern Europe and the Americas.

It was preceded by a 3-day mini-school of Neuroscience sponsored by the NFBRIE (Neuroinsight Foundation for Brain Research Initiatives in Egypt: Cherine Fahim). Many Neuroscience societies were represented in the conference: The French Neuroscience Society (Mohamed Jaber), the International Brain Research Organization (Marina Bentivoglio), the South-Mediterranean Neuroendocrine group (Mohamed Bennis), the Society of Neuroscientists of Africa (Nouria Lakhdar Ghazal), the Société de Neuroendocrinologie (several representatives) and the International Neuroendocrine Federation (William Rostene).

A total of 25 Symposia, 10 plenary lectures, 16 oral and 56 poster presentations were discussed during this international meeting and were published on Frontiers website (http://frontiersin.org/conferences/individual_conference_listing.php?confid=248&ind=1).The main achieved goal of this conference was to bring together top scientists to share their knowledge on how the brain works, how it guides our behaviour and the role played by the endocrine system in this amazing process. The far-reaching aim, however, was to build a collaborative network in Neuroscience, with much emphasis on structuring the Mediterranean research area. During the closing ceremony of the conference, a Mediterranean Neuroscience Society (MNS) has been created and an executive bureau elected. It was agreed to make its base in France and the presidency turning around Mediterranean countries (the first elected president is French: Driss Boussaoud and the first elected vice-president Egyptian: Marie Moftah).