Big data projects in the neurosciences have been increasing in number in recent years. Nature Neurosciencepresents a collection of Reviews, Perspectives and Commentaries that discuss different kinds of big data in neuroscience, from epigenomics to connectomics and whole-brain activity recordings to big behavioral data. The authors of these pieces tackle tough questions that have come to the forefront during this era of big data, including whether big data will completely change the way neuroscience is done, how much insight will be gained from big data, and what are the best ways to go about conducting such projects.

Advances in genomics is accelerating the pace of discovery in all areas of biology and medicine including psychiatry. Neuroscientists are now inundated with information implicating hundreds of regions across the genome that harbor rare and common risk variants for disorders of the brain. Navigating this data deluge and translating it into biological and mechanistic insights remains a formidable challenge. In this special Nature Neuroscienceissue on neurogenomics, we present a series of perspectives and reviews by leading experts on the latest genomic methods, their recent discoveries in psychiatry and neurology and their implication for and application to neuroscience.

Pain can be defined simply as the subjective experience of harm in a part of one's body. However, there are multiple forms of pain, including nociceptive and inflammatory pain, that involve a complex set of biological processes. Although the pain system has an important physiological role in preserving the integrity of the body, it can sometimes become dysfunctional and generate prolonged pain states in the absence of noxious stimuli or injuries. Unfortunately, many pathological pain conditions remain poorly understood and resist currently available treatments. Developing new therapeutic approaches to managing pain will undoubtedly depend on a better understanding of the molecular, cellular and circuit mechanisms underlying acute and chronic pain states. In this special Nature Neuroscienceissue on pain, we present a series of reviews by experts in the field that critically appraise recent research on the neurobiology of pain and itch.

Technology has expanded horizons in a wide range of scientific fields and neuroscience is No. exception. In the past five years, the number of abstracts describing new methods or technology development that were presented at the annual Society for Neuroscience meeting increased by nearly 50 percent. As neuroscientists capitalize on recent technological innovations, they stand poised to make unprecedented progress. In this issue, we present an array of review articles sampling some of the most exciting recent advances in techniques used across the field of neuroscience.

Chronic pain is estimated to affect over one-quarter of the world's population, and presents a considerable therapeutic challenge. This Nature Collection brings together articles from Nature,Nature Medicine,Nature Neuroscience,Nature Reviews NeurologyandNature Reviews Neurosciencethat highlight recent advances towards understanding the risk factors and mechanisms that underlie chronic pain, and developing effective, non-addictive treatments for this highly prevalent condition.

Memories provide a link between the present and the past and allow us to project our thoughts into the future. But memories are not immutable; instead, they continually evolve throughout their lifetime, embarking on a dynamic journey the moment they are born. Recent Neuroscience research has provided important new insights into how memories change in time, the mechanisms by which these changes come about and about the nature of the underlying neural representations, sometimes offering promises for the treatment of memory disorders. Nature Neurosciencepresents a focus on memory, comprising Commentaries, Reviews and Perspectives discussing some of the most exciting recent developments and emerging ideas in our understanding of the neurobiology of learning and memory.

The increasing prevalence of obesity has added a degree of urgency to research into how and why humans overeat and become obese. Although obesity and metabolic syndrome are often seen as diseases of the body, the central nervous system plays an important role in regulating feeding behavior and metabolism. Neuroscience research has provided insight into the role the central nervous system plays in the regulation of feeding behavior, and how disruption of such regulation might lead to obesity. Nature Neuroscience presents a special focus issue including reviews examining how central regulation of feeding is influenced by genetics, peripheral factors, and previous experience, and how reward circuits affect feeding behavior.

Damage or disease in the nervous system is often accompanied by inflammation and an immunological response which requires a carefully choreographed and reciprocal interplay between the neural and immune systems. Recent work examining these interactions has begun to shed some light on the molecular mechanisms and circuitry which regulate how the brain responds to and, in some cases, modulates inflammation. Nature Neurosciencepresents a special focus issue on neuro-immune interactions which highlights some of the most recent and interesting research aimed at understanding the relationship between neural processes and immune reactions via a series of reviews or opinionated articles commissioned from key leaders in the field.

How does the brain implement social processes and behavior, and how do these processes in turn modify the brain? Even though human beings are fundamentally a social species, this is an area that has traditionally been ignored by neuroscience, perhaps because interactions with complex social processes can be difficult to dissect and study in a lab setting. However, recent human neuroimaging and non-human animal work provides an insight into how the brain and social behavior interact, to influence things ranging from physical and mental health to how deviation from social norms is punished. In this special issue on social neuroscience, we present reviews, perspectives and commentaries summarizing some of the most current research in the field.

Jon Driver, who was one of the world’s leading cognitive neuroscientists, died at the relatively young age of 49. However, during his lifetime, his work significantly enriched our understanding of how the brain works, and this collection includes his seminal work published in Nature Neuroscience and its sister journals. His colleagues Geraint Rees and Ray Dolan describe his career and his many achievements in an accompanying obituary.

Autism spectrum disorder has attracted intense interest from the public and scientists over recent years. Nature sorts fact from fiction in this hot, but sometimes contentious, field: from the debate about soaring diagnoses, to the idea that scientists and engineers are at high risk of having a child with autism. The special includes news and comment fromNature, and articles fromNature Medicine,Nature NeuroscienceandNature Reviews Neuroscience.

Blood vessels in the nervous system are not simply neutral bystanders that only support the changing needs of neurons. Nature Neuroscience presents a focus on neurovascular interactions that highlight our emerging knowledge of how these interactions shape neuronal function both in health and disease. The focus includes reviews and perspectives written by experts in the field discussing how blood vessels and angiogenic molecules actively participate in the pathogenesis of various neurological disorders. Reviews also critically evaluate our advances in understanding how blood vessels interact with neural stem and progenitor cells, brain tumor interactions with the neurovasculature, and the consequences for disease when these interactions are affected.