The degeneration of granule neurons in dentate gyrus and cerebellum after global ischemia sharply contrasts with the degeneration of CAI neurons and Purkinje cells (149). Granule neuron death after ischemia closely resembles apoptosis. Thus, granule neurons provide an internal standard of classical apoptosis to which CAI pyramidal neuron and cerebellar Purkinje cell degeneration after ischemia can be compared to demonstrate that the death of these latter neurons clearly differs from classical apoptosis. The death of granule neurons is characterized by condensation of chromatin into few, large round clumps or crescentic caps, aggregation and lamination of the cytoskeleton, and cellular shrinkage.