In the present study the role of the central dopaminergic systems in the behavioral action of H-Phe-Ile-Tyr-His-Ser-Tyr-Lys-OH was investigated. The heptapeptide inhibited the extinction of active avoidance behavior if the treatment was performed intracerebroventricularly (icv) in a dose of 1 microgram, but was ineffective in a dose of 0.1 micrograms. If the peptide was injected into the nucleus accumbens septi (NAS) in a dose of 1 microgram, 0.1 micrograms or 0.01 micrograms it inhibited the extinction, but in the latter dose its effect was only a short one. H-Phe-Ile-Tyr-His-Ser-Tyr-Lys-OH in a dose of 1 microgram, 10 micrograms or 20 micrograms (icv) did not influence the turning activity of unilateral substantia nigra (USN)-lesioned animals. These results suggest that the NAS plays an important role in the behavioral action of H-Phe-Ile-Tyr-His-Ser-Tyr-Lys-OH and the heptapeptide has no direct dopamine receptor stimulatory or dopamine-releasing effect in the striatum.