Recent evidence indicating that neurodegenerative disorders and cognitive dysfunction are not confined to the elderly population has stimulated research into drug treatments for these conditions. This volume provides a comprehensive review of both the experimental and clinical advances in our understanding of Alzheimer"s disease, vascular dementia, ischemia, brain damage and neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson"s disease. The possible pharmacological approaches to the treatment of these disorders are also discussed. A special emphasis is placed on the molecular mechanisms leading to excitotoxicity, believed to be a cause of cell death in neurologic diseases.