Nature Neuroscience presents a special focus on emotion and emotion disorders, published in the September 2007 issue and accessible online. Regulation of emotion is becoming better understood, but despite the societal costs of disorders like depression and anxiety, their causes remain unclear. Five review articles in this issue provide perspective on this literature.

New insights into BDNF function in depression and anxiety

Keri Martinowich, Husseini Manji & Bai Lu

Social learning of fear

Andreas Olsson & Elizabeth A Phelps

Long story short: the serotonin transporter in emotion regulation and social cognition

Turhan Canli & Klaus-Peter Lesch

Adult hippocampal neurogenesis in depression

Amar Sahay & Rene Hen

Targeting abnormal neural circuits in mood and anxiety disorders: from the laboratory to the clinic

Kerry J Ressler & Helen S Mayberg