The purpose of this study was to investigate the contribution of cerebrovascular parasympathetic and sensory innervation to the development of ischemic brain edema. We measured the cerebral water content in rat focal ischemia and reperfusion model. A chronic transection of neither parasympathetic fiber nor sensory fiber (nasociliary nerve) modified the cerebral water content after 2 h ipsilateral middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion. However, a chronic transection of sensory fiber, but not the parasympathetic fiber, significantly attenuated the increase of the cerebral water content after 2 h occlusion of ipsilateral MCA followed by 2 h reperfusion. This result indicates that the cerebrovascular sensory innervation contributes to the development of cerebral edema in the postischemic reperfusion.