The importance of this research cannot be overstated. More than 1,000 disorders of the brain and nervous system result in more hospitalizations than any other disease group, including heart disease and cancer. Neurological illnesses affect more than 50 million Americans annually and cost more than $500 billion to treat. In addition, mentadisorders strike 44 million adults a year at a cost of $148 billion. Advances in research could reduce these costs. For example, discovering how to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease by five years could save $50 billion in annual health care costs. In the past two decades, neuroscience has made impressive progress in many of the field’s key areas. Now, more than ever, neuroscience is on the cusp of major breakthroughs. Recently, significant findings have been documented in the following areas.