Objective To explore the value of dexamethasone(DEX) for neuronal cellinjury and death by observing the effect of DEX on excitatory amino acid(EAA) and monoamine neurotransmitter in cerebral tissue of neonatal rat with hypoxia-ischemia.Methods Hypoxic-ischemic neonatal rat models were established,the levels of EAA and monoamine neurotransmitter in cerebral tissue were analyzed by using capillary electrophoresis and fluorospectrophotometry method.The rats were divided into 4 groups small dose DEX group pre-treated with DEX(0.5 mg/kg) prior to hypoxia-ischemia,large dose DEX group pre-treated with DEX(10 mg/kg) prior to hypoxia-ischemia,HIE group and shamful operation group.Results The levels of EAA and monoamine neurotransmitter contents in HIE group were significantly higher than those in shamful operation group(P0.05).EAA contents of large dose DEX group greatly decreased compared with HIE group (P