Alzheimer's disease is a progressive loss of memory and cognition, for which there is no cure. Although genetic studies initially suggested a primary role for amyloid-beta in Alzheimer's disease, treatment strategies targeted at reducing amyloid-beta have failed to reverse cognitive symptoms. These clinical findings suggest that cognitive decline is the result of a complex pathophysiology and that targeting amyloid-beta alone may not be sufficient to treat Alzheimer's disease. Instead, a broad outlook on neural-circuit-damaging processes may yield insights into new therapeutic strategies for curing memory loss in the disease.