Summary

All papers have been peer reviewed. This volume originated at the 9th Granada Seminar, which was held at the Facultad de Ciencias of the University of Granada, Spain, September 11-15, 2006, and contains the main lectures as well as a selection of contributed papers presented at the conference. This is the ninth Volume of a series of Granada Lectures. One interesting aspect of this meeting is the opportunity given to the young scientists to present their results and to discuss their problems with leading specialists. The 9th Granada Seminar covered the computational and mathematical modeling of cooperative behavior in neural systems. Each topic is comprehensively described, and some practical exercises are proposed. The Granada Lectures are a series of books that help introduce the beginner to novel advances in statistical physics and to the creative use of computers in scientific research, as well as to serve as a work of reference for teachers, students, and researchers.