Tolerance to otherwise lethal cerebral ischemia in vivo or to oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) in vitro can be induced by prior transient exposure to NMDA: preconditioning in this manner activates extrasynaptic and synaptic NMDA receptors and can require bringing neurons to the ‘brink of death’. We considered if this stressful requirement could be minimized by the stimulation of primarily synaptic NMDA receptors. Subjecting cultured cortical neurons to prolonged elevations in electrical activity induced tolerance to OGD. Specifically, exposing cultures to a K+-channel blocker, 4-aminopyridine (20-2500 µM), and a GABAA receptor antagonist, bicuculline (50 µM; 4-AP/bic), for 1-2 days resulted in potent tolerance to normally lethal OGD applied up to 3 days later. Preconditioning induced phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and CREB which, along with Ca2+ spiking and OGD tolerance, was eliminated by tetrodotoxin. Antagonists of NMDA receptors or L-type voltage-gated Ca2+ channels (L-VGCCs) applied during preconditioning decreased Ca2+ spiking, phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and CREB, and OGD tolerance more effectively when combined, particularly at the lowest 4-AP concentration. Inhibiting ERK1/2 or Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinases (CaMKs) also reduced Ca2+ spiking and OGD tolerance. Preconditioning resulted in altered neuronal excitability for up to 3 days following 4-AP/bic washout, based on field potential recordings obtained from neurons cultured on 64-channel multi-electrode arrays. Taken together, the data is consistent with action potential-driven co-activation of primarily synaptic NMDA receptors and L-VGCCs, resulting in parallel phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and CREB and involvement of CaMKs, culminating in a potent, prolonged but reversible, OGD-tolerant phenotype.