Unilateral ligation of the left common carotid artery in anesthetized Mongolian gerbils resulted in a steep rise in extracellular dopamine in the ipsilateral striatum in 9 out of 19 animals. Extracellular dopamine was measured by cerebral dialysis in vivo and reached a peak of 0.19 mM at 40 min. At the same time, the level of homovanillic acid fell, whereas the levels of ascorbate and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid remained relatively constant. In a separate group of animals studied with a combined dialysis/electrochemistry probe, a rise in the in vivo chronoamperometric signal in three out of six animals correlated with a rise in extracellular dopamine. The number of animals responding in these experiments (roughly 50%) corresponds to the frequency of incompetent Circle of Willis, as well as literature reports of the frequency of signs of stroke in unanesthetized gerbils. These results show a remarkable accumulation of dopamine in extracellular fluid in response to cerebral ischemia. Released dopamine appears to be responsible for the elevated in vivo electrochemical signal previously reported.