Vasopressin (VP) has been found in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of several species of animals. Although it is known that hemorrhage, hypertonicity of body fluid, hypoxia, and hypercapnia all increase VP in plasma, little is known regarding the stimuli that cause the secretion of VP into the CSF. We therefore performed several studies to examine whether stimuli capable of increasing plasma levels of VP can also increase VP in the CSF of anesthetized dogs. We found that hemorrhage, intracerebroventricular infusion of hypertonic artificial CSF, hypoxia, and hypercapnia all produced increases in the concentration of VP in plasma and in CSF, but the time courses and the magnitude of the increases in the two compartments were different. In addition, an i.v. infusion of hypertonic saline or of hydrochloric acid produced an increase in plasma VP without significantly changing CSF VP. Thus, although the secretion of VP into plasma and CSF may be influenced by the same stimuli, changes in one compartment do not necessarily correlate with changes in the other. Taken together, our results are consistent with the hypothesis that the plasma and CSF VP may derive from different sources.