182 J Clin Psychiatry 58:5, May 1997 ying is generally an undesired affair. In recent years, however, it has become clear that many cells, including neurons, are actively programmed to commit molecular hari-kari. Such a process is called apoptosis. This is not the messy affair associated with cellular poisoning or suffocation, known as necrosis. Necrotic cell death is characterized by a severe ...