Early history : from Galen to Golgi / essay by Nicholas Wade -- The birth of modern neuroscience : Santiago Ramón y Cajal / essay by Javier DeFelipe -- After Cajal : from black and white to color / essay by Joshua R. Sanes -- Breaking the diffraction barrier : from cells to molecules / essay by Maryann E. Martone and Mark H. Ellisman -- Electricity in the brain / essay based on an interview with Michael Goldberg -- The brain as circuit / essay by Terrence Sejnowski -- From brain structure to brain function / essay by Joy Hirsch.