The cerebral stress response is examined following a variety of pathological conditions such as focal and global ischemia, administration of excitotoxins, and hyperthermia. Expression of 72 kDa heat shock protein (Hsp70) and hsp70 mRNA, the mechanism underlying induction of hsp70 mRNA involving activation of heat shock factor 1, and inhibition of cerebral protein synthesis are different aspects of the stress response considered here. The results are compared with those in the literature on induction, transcriptional regulation, expression, and cellular location of Hsp70, with a view to getting more insight into the function of the stress response in the injured brain. The present results illustrate that Hsp70 can be expressed in cells affected at various degrees following an insult that will either survive or dic as the brain lesion develops, depending on the severity of cell injury. This indicates that, under certain circumstances, synthesized Hsp70 might be necessary but not sufficient to ensure cell survival. Other situations involve uncoupling between synthesis of hsp70 mRNA and protein, probably due to very strict protein synthesis blockade, and often result in cell loss. Cells eventually will die if protein synthesis rates do not go back to normal after a period of protein synthesis inhibition. The stress response is a dynamic event that is switched on in neural cells sensitive to a brain insult. The stress response is, however, tricky, as affected cells seem to need it, have to deal transiently with it, but eventually be able to get rid of it, in order to survive. Putative therapeutic treatments can act either selectively, potentiating the synthesis of Hsp70 protein and recovery of protein synthesis, or preventing the stress response by deadening the insult severity.