Abstract: Developmental motifs in neurodegeneration: Neurodegeneration, the prominent feature of neurodegenerative disease, is characterized by the progressive and selective loss of neuronal function. As some of the pathologies caused by neurodegeneration may be irreversible, early intervention will be required for the treatments that aim to slow or halt the manifestation of these diseases. Traditionally, neurodegeneration evokes the idea of a progressive decline of brain function, which ultimately ends with the loss of cognitive, sensory, or motor ability, and the death of specific neuronal subtypes. However, it is now starting to emerge that some neurodegenerative diseases may be caused, or at least become primed, by defects that arise during neurodevelopment.