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Riluzole is believed to exert its anticonvulsant and neuroprotective actions by reducing glutamate release. This study demonstrated that 10–30 μM riluzole reduces the K⁺-evoked release of glutamate and aspartate from slices of hippocampal area CA1. Only higher concentrations reduced γ-aminobutyrate (GABA) release. These actions of riluzole were not occluded by tetrodotoxin. Riluzole did not diminish the ability of glutamate analogues to depolarize CA1 pyramidal cells, as determined from grease-gap recordings. Therefore the anticonvulsant and neuroprotective actions of riluzole in the hippocampus may be at least partly explained by its ability to inhibit glutamate/aspartate release from synaptic terminals.