This special issue of Scientific Studies of Reading highlights the great deal of progress that has been made recently in understanding the neurobiological foundations of basic processes in reading. The papers demonstrate how functional neuroimaging techniques have provided novel insights into how reading works in the brain, and how these processes may be disorganized in reading disorders. Importantly, they illustrate that understanding how reading works in the brain is not a simple end-goal, but rather reveals new phenomena that will serve to constrain theories of reading. Although these articles make clear that full understanding of these processes is well off in the distance, the editors hope that they will inspire further collaboration between reading researchers and neuroscientists.