Introduction -- Excitotoxic programmed cell death involves caspase-independent mechanisms -- To survive or to die: how neurons deal with it -- Oxidative damage mechanisms in traumatic brain injury and antioxidant neuroprotective approaches -- Mitochondrial damage in traumatic CNS injury -- Neuroprotective agents target molecular mechanisms of programmed cell death after traumatic brain injury -- Involvement of apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) in neuronal death following cerebral ischemia -- Apoptosis-inducing factor translocation to nuclei after transient global ischemia -- Necroptosis in cerebral ischemia -- Histological and elemental changes in ischemic stroke -- Hypoglycemic brain damage -- Activation of caspase-independent programmed pathways in seizure-induced neuronal necrosis -- Conclusion.