To determine whether hypothalamic function is normal in patients with idiopathic gonadotrophin deficiency, nine men with this syndrome were studied. Water conservation after overnight dehydration, thermoregulatory response to a cold (10 degrees C) environmental stress and prolactin secretion following chlorpromazine stimulation were investigated. In response to dehydration, maximal urinary osmolality was 1058 +/- 135 mOsm/kg (mean +/- SD) and no patient showed further increase after exogenous vasopressin administration. The patients responded to the cold stimulus by vigorous shivering and maintained their core body temperatures. Basal concentrations of prolactin which were 12.7 +/- 4.6 ng/ml increased by 15 ng/ml following Thyrotrophin-releasing hormone in six of seven men tested, indicating normal pituitary reserve. Prolactin concentrations doubled in seven of eight men who received chlorpromazine. All responses were indistinguishable from those of normal men. While a diminished secretion of gonadotrophin releasing hormone by the hypothalamus remains the most plausible cause of idiopathic gonadotrophin deficiency, our data indicate that the associated functions tested are intact in men with this syndrome.