The pathognomonic plaques of Alzheimer's disease are composed primarily of the 39-to 43-aa -amyloid (A) peptide. Crosslinking of A peptides by tissue transglutaminase (tTg) indicates that Gln 15 of one peptide is proximate to Lys 16 of another in aggregated A. Here we report how the fibril structure is resolved by mapping interstrand distances in this core region of the A peptide chain with solid-state NMR. Isotopic substitution provides the source points for measuring distances in aggregated A. Peptides containing a single carbonyl 13 C label at Gln 15 , Lys 16 , Leu 17 , or Val 18 were synthesized and evaluated by NMR dipolar recoupling methods for the measurement of interpeptide distances to a resolution of 0.2 Å. Analysis of these data establish that this central core of A consists of a parallel -sheet structure in which identical residues on adjacent chains are aligned directly, i.e., in register. Our data, in conjunction with existing structural data, establish that the A fibril is a hydrogen-bonded, parallel -sheet defining the long axis of the A fibril propagation.