• Design and synthesis of N -benzylpyrrolidine analogs. • Compounds 4k and 4o exhibited balanced inhibition of AChE, BChE, and BACE-1. • Propidium iodide displacement and inhibition of Aβ aggregation by 4k and 4o. • Ex vivo study of rat hippocampal homogenates suggested antioxidant potential. • Amelioration of scopolamine- and Aβ-induced cognitive impairment in AD rat models. Multitarget molecular hybrids of N -benzyl pyrrolidine derivatives were designed, synthesized, and biologically evaluated for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Among the synthesized compounds, 4k and 4o showed balanced enzyme inhibitions against cholinesterases (AChE and BChE) and BACE-1. Both leads showed considerable PAS-AChE binding capability, excellent brain permeation, potential disassembly of Aβ aggregates, and neuroprotective activity against Aβ-induced stress. Compounds 4k and 4o also ameliorated cognitive dysfunction against the scopolamine-induced amnesia model in the Y-maze test. The ex vivo study signified attenuated brain AChE activity and antioxidant potential of compounds 4k and 4o. Furthermore, compound 4o also showed improvement in Aβ-induced cognitive dysfunction by the Morris water maze test with excellent oral absorption characteristics ascertained by the pharmacokinetic study. In silico molecular docking and dynamics simulation studies of leads suggested their consensual binding affinity toward PAS-AChE in addition to aspartate dyad of BACE-1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]