To clarify the nature of ischemic striatal dopamine release during the earliest periods of neuronal injury, we used chronoamperometry to measure dopamine levels every 60 seconds during various durations of ischemia in 32 gerbils. Catecholamine-selective electrodes were implanted into the brains of anesthetized gerbils subjected to 2, 5, or 10 minutes of transient forebrain ischemia or permanent forebrain ischemia. Four control animals showed a stable chronoamperometric baseline. In the six gerbils subjected to permanent ischemia, dopamine release was rapid during early ischemia and slowed with time. The four animals subjected to 2 minutes of ischemia showed minimal dopamine release. The six gerbils subjected to 5 minutes of ischemia demonstrated a noticeable dopamine release during ischemia, and three of the six developed a massive secondary dopamine release during reperfusion. All six animals subjected to 10 minutes of ischemia demonstrated a similar biphasic dopamine release twice the size of that observed in the 5-minute group. Pretreatment with pargyline in six additional gerbils subjected to 10 minutes of ischemia failed to modify significantly this biphasic pattern of dopamine release. We conclude that dopamine release occurs very early during ischemia and that its magnitude correlates with the duration of an ischemia insult. Reperfusion is associated with an even larger striatal dopamine release. This previously unreported biphasic dopamine release phenomenon may have important clinical implications in the management of cerebral ischemia.