As the year 2008 draws to a close, excitement and an expectation of change hang in the air, and not least in the field of neuroscience. “We have recently had a decade of the brain, and there is a sense that this will be a century of neuroscience,” says Pasko Rakic, one of three winners of this year's Kavli prize for neuroscience, in an interview on page 893. Pasko Rakic, Sten Grillner and Thomas Jessell were recognized for their pioneering work and outstanding contributions to elucidating the development and function of neural circuits. This highly prestigious prize, which will be given biannually in the fields of nanoscience, neuroscience and astrophysics, was awarded for the first time this year. The interviews highlight the milestones in the careers of the awardees, their outlook on neuroscience and their advice for young neuroscientists.

This issue also marks the start of a new article series that will cover different aspects of sleep. On page 910, Krueger and colleagues review the accumulated evidence for the hypothesis that sleep is regulated locally through the induction of sleep-like states in individual cortical columns and that synchronization of these states might lead to whole-animal sleep.

Another timely subject, which we cover in this issue's Science and Society article (page 957), is the rising rate of ADHD diagnosis in children. Ilina Singh discusses the science behind the current diagnostic criteria and the ethical and social issues that arise from medicating young children.

Finally, we thank our authors, referees and readers for their constant support, which is invaluable for continuously increasing the impact of Nature Reviews Neuroscience.