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Neurodegeneration is the progressive and gradual dysfunction and loss of axons in the central nervous system. It is the main pathological characteristic of chronic and acute neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), and multiple sclerosis (MS). The usual aspects of pathogenesis of disease can be abridged with regards to the downstream implications of uncontrollable protein oligomerization and aggregation from postmitotic cells. The brain structure constantly changes in normal aging without any dysfunction accompanying the structural changes in brain. The decline in cognitive capabilities, for example, processing speed, memory, and functions related to decision making are the sign of healthy aging. The reduction in brain volume in healthy aging is possibly related to neuronal loss at some marginal extent. The following chapter discusses the structural and functional alterations in the brain in ageing and neurodegeneration.

Neurodegenerative disorders (NDs) are a diverse group of disorders characterized by selective and progressive loss of neural systems that cause dysfunction of the central nervous system (CNS). The examples of NDs include Alzheimer's disease (AD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson's disease (PD), and Huntington's disease (HD). The aggregated proteins block or disrupt the normal proteosomal turnover, autophagy, and become abnormally modified with time, generating toxicity via pathways thereby resulting in neurodegeneration and neuron death. The chapter highlights the understanding in the areas of AD, PD, HD as illustrative of major research so as to define the key factors and events in the improvement of NDs. It defines the physiological functioning of neural transmission (presynaptic, postsynaptic activity) at neural signaling pathway, then the dynamics of neuronal dysfunctioning and its molecular mechanism. Further, it also discusses the progression from synaptic dysfunction to transmission failure followed by NDs.