To evaluate the role of neural cell death during and after kindling epileptogenesis, apoptotic cells were analyzed in amygdaloid kindled rat using TUNEL staining as a marker of programmed cell death. TUNEL positive cells (TPC) were stained and counted as apoptotic cells in hippocampus, white matter, diencephalon, and cortex at three stages; C0 (before kindling), C3 (during kindling) and C5 (fully kindled). The animals were studied 2 h after the last stimulation. In all regions except cortex, apoptotic cells in stage C3 were significantly increased as compared to those in stage C0. Especially, in white matter significantly more apoptotic cells in stage C3 were detected than in stage C5. The present data showed that in the course of getting the epileptogenesis, apoptosis had already occurred and this type of cell death may play a significant role in reaching stage C5 through kindling.