European Brain and Behaviour Society

The European Brain and Behaviour Society, commonly known as EBBS, is a scientific organization devoted to research on the relationships between brain mechanisms and behaviour. Founded in 1968, it is described as the oldest neuroscience society in Europe. Its central role is to facilitate the exchange of information, ideas, and research findings among European scientists working across neuroscience, neurobiology, psychology, psychiatry, and related behavioural sciences. EBBS functions primarily as a professional and scholarly network rather than as a commercial brand. Its activities are oriented toward scientific communication, collaboration, and the development of a European research community. The society brings together investigators whose work may range from cellular and systems neuroscience to cognition, motivation, emotion, learning, memory, and the biological bases of behaviour. Because the organization is defined by a broad relationship between brain function and behaviour, it provides a cross-disciplinary setting for researchers who might otherwise participate in separate specialist communities. A major part of EBBS's public role is its meeting program. In years when a Federation of European Neuroscience Societies meeting is not held, EBBS organizes a stand-alone scientific meeting. These gatherings provide opportunities for presenting research, discussing emerging findings, and building professional relationships among established investigators and younger scientists. The meeting structure also reflects EBBS's wider purpose: maintaining regular communication within European neuroscience while connecting multiple national and disciplinary research traditions. EBBS has also contributed to the institutional development of European neuroscience through its relationship with the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies, or FENS. The society is identified as a founding member of FENS, linking its activities to the broader federation of European neuroscience organizations. This relationship places EBBS within the continent's organized scientific infrastructure while preserving its distinctive emphasis on the interaction between brain mechanisms and behaviour. The society's leadership has included prominent figures in experimental psychology, neuroscience, and behavioural research. Past presidents named in reference material include Lawrence Weiskrantz, Giacomo Rizzolatti, Marc Jeannerod, John Aggleton, Barry Everitt, Susan Sara, Carmen Sandi, and Francesca Cirulli. Igor Branchi is identified as the current president. The range of these leaders reflects the society's interdisciplinary scope and its connection to influential European research programs. EBBS is not a listed company, does not operate as a consumer-facing product brand, and has no publicly identified parent corporation or commercial owner in the supplied sources. Its principal offerings are scientific meetings, scholarly exchange, and professional networking. The society's continuing relevance rests on its role as a durable European forum for research on how neural mechanisms shape behaviour and how behavioural processes can, in turn, inform understanding of the brain.

The European Brain and Behaviour Society was established in 1968 to promote communication among European scientists interested in the connection between brain mechanisms and behaviour. Its founding purpose positioned it at the intersection of neuroscience, experimental psychology, neurobiology, and behavioural science. Rather than concentrating on a single technique or organ system, the society created a broad professional setting for researchers studying how neural processes give rise to behaviour and how behavioural observations can advance understanding of the brain. From its foundation, EBBS developed as a scientific society and research network. Its principal activity has been the organization and support of meetings through which members and other researchers can exchange findings, discuss methods and theories, and establish collaborations. This meeting-centered model is consistent with the society's role as a forum for scientific communication rather than a commercial enterprise. The organization has helped maintain links among researchers working in different European countries and across adjacent disciplines. EBBS is recognized as the oldest neuroscience society in Europe. Its longevity gives it a distinctive place in the history of organized European neuroscience. Over time, the society's leadership has included researchers associated with major areas of brain and behavioural research. The listed former presidents include Lawrence Weiskrantz, Giacomo Rizzolatti, Marc Jeannerod, John Aggleton, Barry Everitt, Susan Sara, Carmen Sandi, and Francesca Cirulli. Their varied backgrounds illustrate the breadth of topics encompassed by EBBS, including cognition, motor systems, learning, memory, motivation, and behavioural neuroscience. A significant institutional milestone was EBBS's role as a founding member of the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies. Through this connection, the society became part of the wider organizational framework for European neuroscience while retaining its own emphasis on brain-behaviour relationships. Cooperation with the federation also shaped the timing of EBBS's meetings. In years without a federation meeting, EBBS organizes a separate stand-alone meeting, ensuring that its scientific community continues to have a regular gathering point. The society's current leadership is identified as being headed by Igor Branchi, following a succession of presidents drawn from European and international neuroscience. Its continuing activities focus on scientific exchange and community building. The available reference material does not provide a complete chronology of every meeting, governance change, membership figure, publication, or administrative location, so those aspects cannot be stated reliably here. On the supplied evidence, EBBS remains an active European scientific society whose historical importance derives from its early establishment, interdisciplinary remit, meeting program, and contribution to the institutional development of neuroscience in Europe.

• 1968

  Society founded

  [1]European Brain and Behaviour Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The European Brain and Behaviour Society was founded to promote information exchange among European scientists studying the relationships between brain mechanisms and behaviour.

• Founding membership in FENS

  [1]European Brain and Behaviour Societyen.wikipedia.org

  EBBS became a founding member of the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies, linking the society to the broader European neuroscience federation.

• Stand-alone meeting program

  [1]European Brain and Behaviour Societyen.wikipedia.org

  In years without a Federation of European Neuroscience Societies meeting, EBBS organizes its own stand-alone scientific meeting.

Interdisciplinary European scientific society for neuroscience and behavioural research

• Scientific conference

  EBBS scientific meetings

  Scientific gatherings are the society's principal identifiable offering. They provide a venue for researchers working on brain mechanisms and behaviour to present findings, exchange information, discuss interdisciplinary questions, and develop professional collaborations. In years without a federation-wide neuroscience meeting, EBBS holds a separate stand-alone meeting.

• Professional network · 1968

  Scientific information exchange

  EBBS supports communication among European scientists whose work addresses the relationship between neural processes and behaviour. This activity includes the circulation of research ideas and the creation of links across neuroscience, psychology, neurobiology, and related behavioural disciplines.

1. 1European Brain and Behaviour Societyen.wikipedia.org
2. 2European Brain and Behaviour Society official websiteebbs-science.org