Dopaminergic control of striatal neurons is retained in rats sustaining lesions of the nigrostriatal bundle (NSB) as long as 10% of the projection remains, suggesting that enhanced efficiency of dopamine (DA) transmission may compensate for the denervation of the striatum. To examine this hypothesis we have studied the extracellular concentration of striatal DA using brain dialysis. In control rats, haloperidol (1 mg/kg, i.p.) or depolarization of striatal tissue with 25 mM KCl increased, and gamma-butyrolactone (500 mg/kg, i.p.) decreased DA and homovanillic acid (HVA) levels in striatal dialysates. Three weeks after unilateral injection of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) to substantia nigra, DA content in the ipsilateral striatum was decreased by 60-98%. Nevertheless, extracellular DA concentration in the lesioned striata remained unchanged in rats with 60-90% DA depletions. More extensive lesions (96% DA depletion) were accompanied by 60% reduction in DA release. In contrast, extracellular HVA levels in the lesioned striata decreased proportionally to the depletion of tissue DA, indicating decreased inactivation of extracellular DA. We propose that the capacity of the residual DA terminals to maintain normal levels of extracellular DA after 60-90% NSB lesions may serve to compensate for the partial denervation of the striatal tissue. Disruption of striatal DA functions and postsynaptic supersensitivity after more extensive lesions may be associated with the failure of the NSB to fully compensate for loss of DA terminals. In striata contralateral to the 6-OHDA lesions, increased DA release was also observed. In addition, 60-90% ipsilateral DA depletions were accompanied by 32% and 42% increases in DA and HVA content in contralateral tissue, respectively. The possibility of the contralateral sprouting of DA terminals is discussed.