Local cerebral glucose utilization (LCGU), estimated by the quantitative autoradiographic 2-deoxyglucose technique, was studied in rats with bilateral 6-hydroxydopamine lesions of the locus coeruleus (LC) and in vehicle-injected controls. Unanesthetized animals were studied during exposure to stressful levels of white noise (95 dB) or in relative silence (50 dB). Results indicated that noise caused greater and more widespread increases in LCGU in animals with LC lesions than in vehicle-injected controls. Lesions alone had little or no effect in animals not subjected to noise. Analyses of variance revealed significant treatment interaction effects (intact/lesion x silence/noise) for 37 of 109 regions measured. The pattern of results suggests that the LC acts during stress to limit unnecessary cerebral activity that might interfere with efficient sensory processing and/or the organization of appropriate behavioral responses. In this respect LC function may be similar to those actions of the peripheral sympathetic nervous system that suppress vegetative functions during stress to allow for the performance of coping responses.