The chloro-S-triazine herbicides (i.e., atrazine, simazine, cyanazine) constitute the largest group of herbicides sold in the United States. Despite their extensive usage, relatively little is known about the possible human-health effects and mechanism(s) of action of these compounds. Previous studies in our laboratory have shown that the chlorotriazines disrupt the hormonal control of ovarian cycles. Results from these studies led us to hypothesize that these herbicides disrupt endocrine function primarily through their action on the central nervous system. To evaluate this hypothesis, we examined the estrogen-induced surges of luteinizing hormone (LH) and prolactin in ovariectomized Sprague-Dawley (SD) and Long-Evans hooded (LE) rats treated with atrazine (50-300 mg/kg/day, by gavage) for 1, 3, or 21 days. One dose of atrazine (300 mg/kg) suppressed the LH and prolactin surge in ovariectomized LE, but not SD female rats. Atrazine (300 mg/kg) administered to intact LE females on the day of vaginal proestrus was without effect on ovulation but did induce a pseudopregnancy in 7 of 9 females. Three daily doses of atrazine suppressed the estrogen-induced LH and prolactin surges in ovariectomized LE females in a dose-dependent manner, but this same treatment was without effect on serum LH and prolactin in SD females. The estrogen-induced surges of both pituitary hormones were suppressed by atrazine (75-300 mg/kg/day) in a dose-dependent manner in females of both strains evaluated after 21 days of treatment. Three experiments were then performed to determine whether the brain, pituitary, or both organs were the target sites for the chlorotriazines. These included examination of the ability of (1) the pituitary lactotrophs to secrete prolactin, using hypophyosectomized females bearing pituitary autotransplants (ectopic pituitaries); (2) the synthetic gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) to induce LH secretion in females treated with high concentrations of atrazine for 3 days; and (3) atrazine (administered in vivo or in vitro) to suppress LH and prolactin secretion from pituitaries, using a flow-through perifusion procedure. In conclusion, the results of these studies demonstrate that atrazine alters LH and prolactin serum levels in the LE and SD female rats by altering the hypothalamic control of these hormones. In this regard, the LE female appeared to be more sensitive to the hormone suppressive effects of atrazine, as indicated by the decreases observed on treatment-day 3. These experiments support the hypothesis that the effect of atrazine on LH and prolactin secretion is mediated via a hypothalamic site of action.