Under urethane anesthesia, animals exhibit patterns of cortical activity similar to those seen in wake, drowsiness and slow-wave sleep in unanesthetized animals. In the present study, hypoxic and hypercapnic ventilatory reflexes were examined in unanesthetized and urethane-anesthetized golden mantled ground squirrels in states with similar EEG profiles. Synchronized EEG patterns occurred less frequently in both unanesthetized and anesthetized animals during hypoxic (10% O2) and hypercapnic (5% CO2) exposure. Breathing frequency fell significantly during sleep in animals breathing all gas mixtures, while the relative ventilatory sensitivity to hypoxia and hypercapnia increased during sleep. Urethane-anesthetized animals also showed significant falls in breathing frequency and ventilation and increases in relative ventilatory sensitivity to hypoxia and hypercapnia as they moved into states with synchronized EEG patterns. These data suggest that the brain activity states observed under urethane anesthesia mimic sleep/wake in terms of their effect on respiratory function and that changes in breathing pattern and the enhancement of ventilatory responses in states with a synchronized EEG is not due solely to changes in levels of behavioural stimuli.