The authors' results show that ischemia differentially activates endogenous neural precursors residing in diverse locations of the adult primate central nervous system. A limited endogenous potential for postischemic neuronal repair exists in neocortex and striatum, but not in the hippocampus proper of the adult macaque monkey brain. The presence of putative parenchymal progenitors and of sustained progenitors in germinative centers opens novel possibilities for precursor cell recruitment to sites of injury. The molecular manipulation of this process may advance the ability to effectively apply brain progenitor cells in the treatment of human neurological diseases.