Studies on chronic inhibition of NO synthase (NOS) in the CNS suggest a plastic change in NO synthesis in areas related to motor control, which might protect the animal from the functional and behavioral consequences of NO deficiency. In the present study, the acute and chronic effect of the substrate analogue inhibitor N G -nitro- l -arginine (L-NNA) was examined on NO production, NO-sensitive cGMP levels and the expression of NOS isoforms in the developing rat cerebellum. Acute intraperitoneal administration of the inhibitor (5–200 mg/kg) to 21-day old rats reduced NOS activity and NO concentration dose dependently by 70–90% and the tissue cGMP level by 60–80%. By contrast, chronic application of L-NNA between postnatal days 4–21 diminished the total NOS activity and NO concentration only by 30%, and the tissue cGMP level by 10–50%. Chronic treatment of 10 mg/kg L-NNA induced nNOS expression in granule cells, as revealed by in situ hybridization, NADPH-diaphorase histochemistry and Western-blot, but it had no significant influence on tissue cGMP level or on layer formation of the cerebellum. However, a higher concentration (50 mg/kg) of L-NNA decreased the intensity of the NADPH-diaphorase reaction in granule cells, significantly reduced cGMP production, and retarded layer formation and induced iNOS expression and activity in glial cells. Treatments did not affect eNOS expression. The present findings suggest the existence of a concentration-dependent compensatory mechanism against experimentally-induced chronic inhibition of NOS, including nNOS or iNOS up-regulation, which might maintain a steady-state NO level in the developing cerebellum.