In this lecture, I will describe how a transdisciplinary approach to study perioperative neurocognitive disorders can lead to new insights into the pathophysiology of these disorders, which are several of the most common postoperative complications in older adults. We will discuss examples of the ways in which neuroimaging techniques (such as functional MRI), cerebrospinal fluid biomarker assays and cognitive testing can be used together to develop mechanistic insights into postoperative delirium and cognitive dysfuntion that would be unobtainable by any single method. finally, we will cover current theories about the role of central neuroinflammation in postoperative delirium and cognitive dysfunction, and studies underway to evaluate these theories.