Functional neuroanatomy and disorders of cognition

Abstract Cognitive disorders such as dementia, amnesia, and delirium primarily affect attention, learning, reasoning, planning, judgment, memory, and other thought processes. Irreversible dementias associated with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy bodies have become the detrimental clinical problems. Since currently available drugs have very limited therapeutic value, there is an emerging need to find out novel targets for the development of future drugs by elucidating the underlying complex pathophysiological mechanisms and identifying the key mediators. The discrete brain regions have been involved in the acquisition and specific type information storage. Moreover, various neuropeptides integrate and process cognition-related signals in the brain by forming neuronal networks with each other and classical neurotransmitters systems. Improvement of functional impairments and inhibition of progressive neurodegeneration by some neuropeptides and neurotransmitters have paved the way to develop nonpeptidergic therapeutic agents with good brain penetration. This chapter summarizes process of memory formation, key neuroanatomical regions, and mediators involved in the cognitive processes and disorders.