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The mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) plays a central role in cell growth. Only recently has mTOR emerged as a critical mediator of plastic changes in the neuron that underlie learning and memory. In this issue, Graber et al. (2013) (LearnMem 20: 518–530) review the current state of knowledge of mTOR signaling in a neurobiological context. This cover illustrates the complexity of the postsynaptic mTOR signaling nexus. Signaling events lead to activation of distinct mTOR complexes located in distinct cellular domains that in turn affect the postsynaptic cytoskeleton and/or the translation of messenger RNAs encoding proteins that are needed to elicit retrograde signaling to the presynaptic cell, long-lasting LTP or LTD.