Recent results from animal studies have shed new light on the process of motor recovery after stroke. These studies demonstrate that after injury to the motor cortex, the intact, adjacent tissue has the capacity to be functionally remodeled. More importantly, it appears that physical rehabilitation after stroke is a potent modulator of this plasticity process. In the motor cortex of monkeys undergoing spontaneous recovery after stroke, the remaining, intact hand representation is partially replaced by more proximal representations. In contrast, when daily, intensive rehabilitative retraining is provided after stroke, the remaining, intact hand representation is maintained or enlarged. A thorough understanding of the neural events accompanying stroke gained through animal models may soon guide the development of more effective rehabilitative strategies in humans.