Using the excitotoxic animal model of Huntington's disease, two experimental treatments were evaluated. The first experiment explored the effect of MK801 (a systemically active anticonvulsant, and noncompetitive NMDA antagonist) pretreatment on quinolinic acid (QA)-induced striatal degeneration and behavioral deficits. MK801 prevented QA-induced neuropathological changes in the striatum and the anatomical protection was correlated with the absence of deficits in the cataleptic response to haloperidol. The second experiment tested the ability of three types of fetal grafts to reverse behavioral deficits induced by kainic acid (KA) lesion. Fetal (E15-16) striatal, cortical and tectal grafts were delivered into the KA-lesioned striatum one week or one month after lesion. Animals in this experiment were evaluated on a motor coordination task, haloperidol-induced catalepsy and amphetamine-induced locomotor activity. Striatal grafts attenuated the deficits induced by KA in all of the tasks observed, and no effect of time of grafting was detected. Tectal grafts had a partial beneficial effect, attenuating the decrease in the cataleptic response to haloperidol observed after KA lesions. No effect of time of grafting was detected for these grafts. In contrast, a clear effect of time of grafting was detected for the cortical grafts. Early cortical grafts reversed the exaggerated response to amphetamine observed after KA lesions whereas late cortical grafts resulted in sham-like scores on the catalepsy test. Histochemical analysis showed that most of the grafts survived, had acetylcholinesterase (AChE) positive fibers and cell bodies, and were metabolically active as indicated by cytochrome oxidase (CO) positive staining. It is suggested that striatal grafts may have restored to some extent the striatal GABAergic control over output structures, and that trophic factors play a role in behavioral recovery as is evident from the beneficial effects of the tectal grafts. Although the mechanisms underlying the differential effects observed after early or late cortical grafts are unknown, the interaction between the cellular components and trophic factors present in the cortical grafts and the condition of the lesioned host at the time of grafting may yield a host-graft complex with a unique profile.