Everyone experiences stress occasionally, but severe or chronic stress can have long-lasting effects on brain structure and function. This Focus issue highlights the latest advances in our understanding of how the brain responds to stress, the mechanisms that mediate the beneficial and adverse effects of stress on brain functioning, and factors that confer vulnerability and resilience to stress.

Recent years have witnessed an explosion of information about the nature and roles of precursor cell populations in the developing and adult CNS. Nature Reviews Neurosciencepresents a series of articles that describe recent advances in the identification of precursor cells and in our understanding of their regulation and functional roles.

Sleep is important for health and cognitive function. Nature Reviews Neurosciencepresents a series of articles that review our understanding of the genetic, cellular and systems basis of sleep. The series will also highlight advances in our understanding of the function of sleep.

The importance of interactions between neurons and glia during development and in adulthood is becoming apparent. Nature Reviews Neurosciencepresents a series of articles to highlight the diversity of these interactions and to draw attention to the sometimes controversial findings in the literature. Articles in this series will cover subjects ranging from molecular aspects of neuron–glia signalling to network interactions and their roles in development and disease.

There is a growing consensus that different types of memory are mediated by multiple distinct systems, but how these 'multiple memory systems' are organized in the brain is still a topic of debate. Nature Reviews Neurosciencepresents a series of articles that discuss recent findings and controversies regarding the neural substrates of different memory systems and their components, drawing on data from neuropsychological, cognitive, neuroimaging and animal studies.

Since the surprising finding that injured axons in the mature central nervous system can re-grow, there has been dramatic progress in our understanding of the molecular, cellular and circuitry level responses to injuries to the adult mammalian central nervous system. This special Focus issue highlights recent developments in this field, with a view to understanding the underlying mechanisms that will enable the development of appropriate therapeutic strategies.

A special series of articles highlighting applications of neuroimaging techniques in all areas of neuroscience, including basic neurobiology, cognitive and behavioural neuroscience, translational neurology and clinical practice.

The essential element in pain is the activation of specialized high-threshold receptors to warn the organism of potential tissue damage. This sensory signal is followed, at least in humans, by a less well-defined but strong emotional experience - we are irresistably driven to stop the pain or escape from the stimulus that causes it.

A special series of articles highlighting recent progress in our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that are involved in all aspects of neural development.

A joint web focus between Nature Medicine and Nature Reviews Neuroscience.

Milestones in Development is a collaboration between five journals - Nature,Nature Cell Biology,Nature Reviews Genetics,Nature Reviews Molecular Cell BiologyandNature Reviews Neuroscience. Twenty-four 'Milestones' highlight the discoveries that have made the greatest impact on the developmental biology field over the past 100 years.

Neurons that fire high-frequency bursts of spikes are found in various sensory systems. Although the functional implications of burst firing might differ from system to system, bursts are often thought to represent a distinct mode of neuronal signalling.