Genes and the environment converge powerfully during early sensitive windows of brain development to form the neural circuits underlying behavior. Although most neuronal cell death occurs in the embryo, the paring down of connections occurs in large part during critical periods in early postnatal life.

Cells within the nervous system, called neurons, communicate with each other in unique ways. The neuron is the basic working unit of the brain.

Neuron formation begins in the earliest stages of human development. Signaling molecules “turn on” certain genes and “turn off” others, beginning nerve cell induction.

As our understanding of the processes that underlie brain damage progresses, it becomes possible to use small-molecule drugs, such as antibiotics and anti-tumor drugs, to alter these processes.

Chemical reactions within brain cells translate the neurotransmitter message for the neuron.

Once the neural induction has occurred, the next step for new neurons is a journey to the proper position in the brain. This process is called migration, and it begins three to four weeks after a human baby is conceived.

The brain uses some unconventional means to communicate.

The two halves of the nervous system work together in order for your body to properly communicate its sensations and needs.

Most medicines today were developed using trial-and-error techniques, which often do not reveal why a drug produces a particular effect. But the expanding knowledge gained from molecular biology methods makes safer and more effective drugs possible.

Currently approved treatments for Alzheimer’s disease do not modify the course of the disease and offer only temporary mitigation of some symptoms, such as agitation, anxiety, unpredictable behavior, sleep disturbances, and depression.