ear Colleagues,The nervous system is made up of specific elements (neurons and glial cells) which are orga-nized into networks. Each of these has its own particular activity, and its functions are coordinated byvarious regulatory systems.Some parts of the nervous system are characterized by their plasticity, and consequently theircapacity to respond in an adaptive fashion to events (both positive and negative). These events cantake the form either of an attack against the nerve cells (neurotoxicity) or of protection of these cells(neuroprotection).They may result from pathologies (depression, delusional syndromes, neurodegenerative dis-eases) or they may be linked to the action of either therapeutic agents (antidepressant medicationswith a neuroprotective action, for example) or to that of toxic agents (drug abuse). For a long time it was difficult to investigate neurotoxicity and neuroprotection, as there wasa lack of specifically designed technologies for the examination of the microanatomy of the nervoussystem. Now, new methods of detailed microimaging and experimental protocols allowing their usehave allowed us to observe the results of these processes. We are now able to obtain both qualitativeand quantitative information on nerve cells, and to assess their functioning.It seemed an opportune moment to invite researchers in these particular areas to share theirknowledge and to provide an update on the status of their research. There are now new models avail-able to explain disorders of the nervous system and their treatment.Consequently, this is the focus we have chosen for this issue of Dialogues in ClinicalNeuroscience. We warmly thank the brilliant authors who have lent their expertise to this issue, andnaturally we also particularly thank our colleagues David Rubinow and Pierre Schulz, who agreed tocoordinate it.Sincerely yours,Jean-Paul Macher, MDE d i t o r i a lD
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