Specifically in relation to stroke, several groups have shown that after cerebral ischemia, SOM+/NPY+ expressing neurons in striatum are selectively spared (Uemura et al. 1990; Larsson et al. 2001), with an initial reduction in the first phases after surgery (4 h–1 day) and then return to baseline-like values 3–7 days after stroke (Grimaldi et al. 1990; Mallard et al. 1995) suggesting their potential role in post-stroke-related neuronal plasticity. The gene discussed is NPY; the disease is brain ischemia.