Effects of ammonia on excitatory synaptic transmission were studied in the rat hippocampal slice preparation. Population spikes, elicited by orthodromic or antidromic stimulation, were recorded in the cell body layer of the CA1, CA3 and dentate regions. Perfusion with 5 mM ammonium chloride induced a profound and reversible depression of orthodromically evoked population spikes in all three regions. Antidromic population spikes were not depressed in any of the regions, indicating that neither axonal conduction nor electrical excitability were affected by ammonia. The paired-pulse test revealed a transient disinhibition during the early phase of perfusion. Iontophoretic application of glutamate evoked unit firing even when the synaptically evoked responses were reduced by ammonia, indicating that the postsynaptic sensitivity to the putative transmitter was not depressed. Depression of release of the excitatory transmitter, probably because of depletion following the block of transmitter synthesis, is the likely explanation of these findings. It is suggested that ammonia-induced depression of excitatory transmission may account for coma and other symptoms of central nervous system depression encountered in hyperammonemic states.