In anaesthetised animals, the very negative resting membrane potential of striatal spiny neurones (down state) is interrupted periodically by depolarising plateaux (up states) which are probably driven by excitatory input. In the absence of active synaptic input, as occurs in vitro, potassium currents hold the membrane potential of striatal spiny neurones in the down state. Because striatal spiny neurones fire action potentials only during the up state, these plateau depolarisations have been perceived as enabling events that allow information processing through cerebral cortex-basal ganglia circuits. Recent studies have demonstrated that the robust membrane potential fluctuation of spiny neurones is strongly correlated to the slow electroencephalographic rhythms that are typical of slow wave sleep and anaesthesia. To further understand the impact of cortical activity states on striatal function, we studied the membrane potential of striatal neurones during cortical desynchronised states. Simultaneous in vivo recordings of striatal neurones and the electrocorticogram in urethane-anaesthetised rats revealed that rhythmic alternation between up and down states was disrupted during episodes of spontaneous or induced cortical desynchronisation. Instead of showing robust two-state fluctuations, the membrane potential of striatal neurones displayed a persisting depolarised state with fast, low-amplitude modulations. Spiny neurones remained in this persistent up state until the cortex resumed ~1 Hz synchronous activity. Most of the recorded neurones exhibited a low firing probability, irrespective of the cortical activity state. Time series analysis failed to reveal significant correlations between the membrane potential of striatal neurones and the desynchronised electrocorticogram. Our results suggest that during cortical desynchronisation continuous uncorrelated excitatory input sustains the membrane potential of striatal neurones in a persisting depolarised state, but that substantial additional input is necessary to impel the neurones to threshold. Our data support that the prevailing cortical activity state determines the duration of the enabling depolarising events that take place in striatal spiny neurones.