The purpose of this study was to evaluate cerebral blood flow and metabolism following pancuronium bromide paralysis in healthy newborn lambs. Cerebral blood flow and cerebral metabolic rate for O2 and glucose were measured along with blood pressure and blood gases before and again at 15 and 60 min following pancuronium paralysis in seven newborn lambs. Pancuronium bromide paralysis had no effect on any of these parameters either at 15 or 60 min of paralysis. Total cerebral blood flow, cerebral metabolic rate for O2, and cerebral metabolic rate for glucose were 87 +/- 6 ml/min/100 g, 258 +/- 10 mumol O2/min/100 g, and 53 +/- 10 mmol glucose/min/100 g, respectively. Neither was any change in regional cerebral blood flow noted. In spite of being connected immediately to the ventilator, however, some animals experienced a transient increase (average = 32%) in blood pressure, that was not associated with an increase in end tidal CO2. The data suggest that pancuronium paralysis in healthy awake newborn lambs does not lead to any alteration in cerebral blood flow or metabolism.