Intracellular spontaneous activity was recorded in neostriatal slices from rats with 6-hydroxydopamine-induced lesion of the left nigrostriatal dopaminergic system. Recordings were made at different times after denervation. Dopaminergic denervation caused the appearance of spontaneous synaptic potentials, which were present even after 8 months. The results suggest a tonic inhibitory influence of the dopaminergic innervation on the synaptic input of neostriatal neurons.