More than 2000 years ago, the Roman poet Virgil wrote , “Time robs us of all, even of memory.” Humans have long recognized the insidious toll that aging takes on the body – including the brain. But it is only very recently in our history as a species that we have been able to conceive of plausible ways to halt or even reverse it. As we gradually unveil the fundamental mechanisms of biological aging, we are starting to develop interventions that directly combat the diseases emanating from this process. And there is surely no target of this kind of research that is more important than the brain. Your brain, after all, is what truly makes you who you are. For most of us, the threat of losing our memories, our personality, and our connections to one another is perhaps more frightening than anything else. It is also a daunting challenge. Modern medicine has enabled us to repair or even wholly replace many other parts of the body, including vital organs. And in the future, excitin