The effect of anaesthetics on the relation between local cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and extracellular glucose was studied in rat striatum. Cerebral blood flow was measured using the hydrogen clearance method and extracellular glucose using an implanted glucose oxidase-based biosensor. Rats were given an intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of either sodium pentobarbitone (60 mg kg-1) or chloral hydrate (350 mg kg-1). The effect of the i.p. injection, as demonstrated by an i.p. saline injection, was a brief increase in rCBF accompanied by a decrease in glucose. Sodium pentobarbitone produced a decrease in both rCBF and glucose, whereas chloral hydrate caused a decrease in glucose but an increase in rCBF. These findings show a dissociation between rCBF and extracellular glucose and suggest that glucose in the extracellular compartment is not derived directly from the blood vascular compartment.