The role of central catecholamines in the mediation of adrenocortical activation, induced by interleukin 1 (IL-1), was investigated by measuring ACTH and corticosterone in serum. Adult male rats were injected with either vehicle or the neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) into the lateral ventricle or the ventral noradrenergic ascending bundle. In vehicle-injected rats, 2 U of IL-1, injected intraventricularly, produced a 5- and 15-fold increase in ACTH and CS, respectively, in serum, 120 min after the injection of IL-1. In contrast, 6-OHDA, injected either intraventricularly or into the ventral noradrenergic ascending bundle, abolished the response to an intracerebral injection of IL-1. In addition, in rats pretreated with the alpha 1-adrenergic antagonist, prazosin, IL-1 failed to activate the adrenocortical axis. In other rats pretreated with the beta-adrenergic antagonist, propranolol, the adrenocortical response did not significantly differ from that of vehicle-pretreated rats. These results suggest that central adrenergic transmission, originating at the ventral noradrenergic ascending bundle and acting through alpha 1-adrenergic receptors, is involved in the adrenocortical response to IL-1.