A three-channel near-infrared monitoring system was used to evaluate the regional hemodynamic responses to photic stimulation during spontaneous sleep in seven healthy neonates. Three pairs of parallel light guides, separated by 15 mm each, were placed over a 450-mm(2) occipital region of the head. Increases in oxygenated and total hemoglobin were observed during photic stimulation only in one channel, and no change or decreases in oxygenated, deoxygenated, and total hemoglobin were observed in the other two channels. The change in the direction of deoxygenated hemoglobin accompanying the increases in oxygenated and total hemoglobin (usually a decrease in adults) differed in each subject and also varied with each measurement even in the same subject. An increase, decrease, and no change were observed. The results imply that an increase in regional cerebral blood flow occurs because of stimulation specific to the visual cortex and that the increase in deoxygenated hemoglobin observed in the visual cortex of the neonatal brain is attributable to venous dilation.