Extracellular concentrations of ascorbic acid, glutathione, cysteine, uric acid, tyrosine, and tryptophan were monitored using intracerebral microdialysis in the left frontoparietal cortex of spontaneous hypertensive rats before, and for 3 h after, either focal ischemia [left middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO)] or sham operation. The size of the ischemic area and the position of the microdialysis probe were checked using the enzyme histotopochemical acid phosphatase reaction. The probe was always located in the cortex inside the stained area. Ascorbic acid levels rose immediately after MCAO and remained at about 12-fold for 3 h. There was a transient release of glutathione during 1-1.5 h. Uric acid concentrations were also increased but the differences did not reach significance. The levels of the amino acids tyrosine and tryptophan increased steadily after MCAO. The increases in cysteine were variable but significant. In some experiments, the pH of the dialysate was measured online. The parameters ascorbic acid, glutathione, cysteine, and pH are suitable for the early detection of cortical ischemic events by microdialysis.