Magnetic fields were measured with SQUID magnetometry outside the skull of anaesthetised rabbits during initiation and propagation of spreading depression (SD) in the cortex. Slowly changing fields (up to 1.4 pT) were observed during the propagation phase, from 4-8.5 min after initiation of SD with KCl application, with maxima at about 6 min. The peak amplitude of the equivalent net dipole generators in the brain was ca. 28 microA.mm, substantially less than previously observed with SD in vitro, but large enough that similar signals might be detectable in man.