Q. What are some of the major insights we have today about the aging brain and memory that we didn’t have 25 years ago?

We have alot of new insights. To begin with, we know there are two major kinds of memory disorders: those associated with aging per se (also called 'age-related memory loss' or 'benign senescent forgetfulness', and, in contrast, a variety of different dementias (fronto-temporal dementia, vascular dementia and Alzheimer's disease). These are progressive diseases. We understand the mechanisms that contribute to them, and therefore, have a lot of hope for thinking we might have opportunities for cures. Although no one has struck gold so far, we have every reason to be optimistic that in the next decade, some researchers will.