Reactions of pial vessels to hypercapnia were studied in Wistar rats one week after global cerebral ischemia. In ischemic rats, the responsiveness of pial vessels to hypercapnia was diminished, which promoted a decrease in cerebral perfusion reserve. Changes in vascular responsiveness in the arterial and venous subdivisions of the vascular bed were observed and probably resulted from ischemia-provoked down-regulation of the vascular tone.