Cover: Brain tissue is densely vascularized. Neurons and astrocytes are intimately intertwined with the microvascular network so that intense pandepolarization events such as spreading depression activate complex mechanisms involving virtually all cell types in the tissue (illustrated on the cover image). A comprehensive review and a critical reassessment of the complex interactions between the brain tissue and the vasculature during spreading depolarizations under both normal and pathological circumstances are given. See Ayata, Cenk, and Martin Lauritzen. Physiol Rev 95: 953–993, 2015.