The brain can be protected by ischaemic preconditioning, in which mild transient ischaemia protects against subsequent, more severe ischaemic attacks. A new study suggests that the protective effect in hippocampal CA1 cells is attributable to activation of Akt-induced autophagy. Experiments in oxygen glucose deprivation and bilateral carotid artery occlusion models of ischaemia provided in vitro and in vivo evidence that preconditioning increased Akt phosphorylation and expression of microtubule-associated protein light chain 3, a marker of autophagy. Inhibition of autophagy blocked the protective effects of preconditioning.