A test model of studying the effects of chronic pharmacological treatment on cerebral metabolism related to energy transduction was developed. The most useful biochemical parameters were the cerebral enzymatic activities related to the glycolytic pathway (lactate dehydrogenase), the Krebs' cycle (citrate synthetase and malate dehydrogenase) and the electron transfer chain (total NADH-cytochrome c reductase and cytochrome oxidase). The model is based on the natural growth-dependent changes occurring in the rat during aging (from 10 to 60 weeks of life). As test drug, 10-methoxy-1,6-dimethyl-ergoline-8 beta-methanol-(5-bromonicotinate) (nicergoline, Sermion) was administered daily for three periods of 16 weeks each (10-26, or 28-44, or 44-60 weeks of life) by two different administration routes (oral and i.p.), and at two different dose levels: oral 1 or 4, i.p. 0.25 or 1 mg/kg. Biochemical data were obtained blindly after 4, 8, 12 and 16 weeks of treatment. The drug tested exerted different effects which were dependent on the various administration periods and the administration routes. No dose-effect relationship was established.