The calcium hypothesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) invokes the disruption of calcium signaling as the underlying cause of neuronal dysfunction and ultimately apoptosis. As a primary calcium signal transducer, calmodulin (CaM) responds to cytosolic calcium fluxes by binding to and regulating the activity of target CaM-binding proteins (CaMBPs). Ca2+-dependent CaMBPs primarily contain domains (CaMBDs) that can be classified into motifs based upon variations on the basic amphiphilic alpha-helix domain involving conserved hydrophobic residues at positions 1-10, 1-14 or 1-16. In contrast, an IQ or IQ-like domain often mediates Ca2+-independent CaM-binding. Based on these attributes, a search for CaMBDs reveals that many of the proteins intimately linked to AD may be calmodulin-binding proteins, opening new avenues for research on this devastating disease. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.