Cardiovascular responses to centrally administered thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) were studied in urethan-anesthetized rats to allow continuous recording of attendant changes in sympathetic nerve activity. Intracerebroventricular infusions of TRH (0.05-5.0 micrograms) consistently increased not only blood pressure and heart rate, but also spike frequency in splanchnic, renal, or cervical sympathetic nerves. Parasympathetic inhibition seemed unlikely because TRH responses were unaltered by cholinergic blockade with atropine, and efferent vagal nerve firing, instead of being reduced, was actually increased by TRH. An increased secretion of endogenous vasopressin also appeared unlikely, since TRH responses were essentially unaffected by either hypophysectomy or pretreatment with a vasopressin antagonist. Inasmuch as pharmacological ganglion blockade with pentolinium eliminated increases in splanchnic nerve firing but reduced the attendant tachycardia by only 50%, residual tachycardia after ganglion blockade was considered partly due to persistent sympathetic cardioaccelerator tone. On the other hand, because pressor responses to TRH were always accompanied by increased sympathetic nerve firing and were completely abolished after pentolinium-induced ganglioplegia, they were attributed solely to sympathetic hyperactivity.