Michael Arbib of USC discusses (Talking Robots 10/12/07) how the discovery of mirror neurons is inspiring attempts to design robots that can emulate human emotions.  This is part of a larger trend in robotics which is called biological robotics in which designs are inspired by biological systems. It is significant that what is learned by attempts to design robotic animals can in turn shed light on how biological systems work.

This kind of interdisciplinary work is at the intersection of neuroscience, artificial intelligence, and computer engineering.   Dr. Arbib also discusses the challenges of doing interdisciplinary work in an age of exploding knowledge.  You can find more about his work including links to a few of his numerous publications on his website.