The effects of the selective non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonist dizocilpine (MK801) and the competitive NMDA receptor antagonist CGS19755 upon local blood flow (lCBF) and local glucose utilisation (lCGU) were examined in 81 neuroanatomically discrete regions of the conscious rat brain using the [14C]iodoantipyrine and [14C]2-deoxyglucose quantitative autoradiographic techniques, respectively. Animals received dizocilpine (0.3 mg/kg), CGS19755 (30 mg/kg) or saline vehicle (2 ml/kg) 10 min prior to the initiation of lCGU studies while blood flow determinations were performed in parallel groups of animals 20 min after drug administration. Dizocilpine significantly increased lCGU in 33 of the 81 regions measured (most notably in cortical and subcortical limbic structures and in the basal ganglia) while reducing glucose use in seven brain areas (frontoparietal and somatosensory cortex, and in areas subserving auditory function). In contrast, CGS19755 significantly reduced lCGU use in 39 of the 81 areas examined while increases were observed in only three areas (anterior piriform cortex, substantia nigra pars reticulata, and posterior thalamic nucleus). Following Dizocilpine administration, there was evidence of widespread (64 of the 81 areas studied) increases in lCBF, while blood flow was reduced in the inferior colliculus. Significant increases in lCBF were also noted in 26 brain areas of CGS19755-treated rats while in one area (flocculus) blood flow was reduced. In saline-treated rats there was a close correlation between lCBF and lCGU. Dizocilpine administration was associated with an increase in the overall lCBF:lCGU ratio from 1.56 ml/mumol (in saline-treated rats) to 2.34 ml/mumol. In some brain areas (CA1 subfield of the dorsal hippocampus, somatosensory cortex and nucleus accumbens) there was evidence of focal disturbances in flow-metabolism relationship. While a similar increase in the overall lCBF-lCGU use ratio was evident in CGS19755 treated animals, there was no evidence of focal uncoupling of the flow metabolism relationship in any of the 81 brain areas examined. These data show that whilst both competitive and non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonists increased cerebral tissue perfusion beyond that required to meet underlying metabolic demand, focal disturbances in the flow metabolism relationship were observed only in dizocilpine-treated rats.