Syrian hamsters kept in long day-lengths have active gonads and high circulating levels of gonadal steroids. Under the influence of the pineal gland, animals exposed to short photoperiods undergo testicular regression, have low circulating levels of testosterone and gonadotrophins and elevated levels of beta-endorphin within the hypothalamus. This paper describes the interaction between testosterone and photoperiod in the regulation of beta-endorphin levels in three regions of the hypothalamus. Hypothalamic beta-endorphin levels were measured by a combination of high-performance liquid chromatography and radioimmunoassay techniques that allows separation of the beta-endorphin (1-31) peptide from its metabolites and precursors. All of the beta-endorphin-like immunoreactivity in the hypothalamus of the male hamster, in both photoinhibited and photostimulated conditions, was found to represent the 31-amino-acid peptide. In photostimulated hamsters, chronic castration was associated with a significant increase of beta-endorphin levels in the anterior hypothalamus and mediobasal hypothalamus, which was reversed by treatment with exogenous testosterone. Castration prevented the ability of naloxone, an opiate receptor antagonist, to release luteinizing hormone, and this effect was also reversed by exogenous steroid. In photoinhibited hamsters, however, castration had no effect upon beta-endorphin levels in the preoptic area or mediobasal hypothalamus, and there was only a small increment in the anterior hypothalamus. Significantly, beta-endorphin levels in all areas of the hypothalamus of photoinhibited castrates were not decreased by testosterone treatment. In addition, administration of exogenous testosterone did not restore sensitivity to naloxone in these animals.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)