Objective:Neurological evaluation is commonly applied to identify ischemia in focal cerebral ischemia model though it might not be sensitive.In present study,we hired sleeping time to assess ischemia occurrence.Methods:Permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion was induced in Sprague-Dawley rats under pentobarbital and ketamine anesthesia respectively.Sleeping time was recorded.Neurological evaluation was conducted by modified Bedersons scoring system at 4 h and histopathological evaluation was performed at 3 d after middle cerebral artery occlusion.Results:Slices of brain stained by TFC,H&E and hoechst 33258 revealed extensive lesion in the two ischemic groups.The sensitivity to identify ischemia by neurological evaluation was 62.5%,but it was 81.3% and 80% respectively when evaluating by sleeping time(pentobarbital:≥90.7 min,ketamine:≥36.1 min).The sensitivity to identify ischemia by sleeping time was significantly higher than that by neurological evaluation(P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion:Our resuits suggested that to identify ischemia by sleeping time is a simple and sensitive method in the setting of focal cerebral ischemia in rat.