The effect of intravenous lidocaine (4 mg kg-1) on ganglionic and spinal neuronal hyperactivity following sciatic chronic constriction injury (CCI) was studied in anaesthetized and curarized rats. A significant difference in the time course and magnitude of the lidocaine effect on the two neuronal populations was found. Longer lasting and more potent inhibitory effects on the dorsal horn neurones in comparison with ganglionic neurones were observed. By contrast the magnitude and time course of the inhibitory effects were highly comparable in dorsal horn neurones before and after acute rhizotomy. The results indicate that peripheral and central effects of lidocaine are not sequentially related. The likelihood that lidocaine inhibition at central sites may have a role in its analgesic effect, at least in the neuropathic model, is discussed.