The upper limit of cerebral autoregulation was studied in pre- or early established hypertension in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Cerebral blood flow (CBF) was measured with the hydrogen clearance method, and wall/lumen ratio of cerebral arteries was morphometrically measured with the freeze-substitution technique. To test autoregulation, phenylephrine was intravenously infused to cause stepwise increments of blood pressure. Unilateral superior cervical ganglionectomy was carried out to examine the effects of sympathetic denervation on CBF autoregulation and thickness of vascular wall. Resting blood pressure at 4 weeks, 3 months and 6 months of age were 89 +/- 3 mm Hg (mean +/- SEM), 140 +/- 6 and 165 +/- 6, respectively. Baseline CBF was slightly diminished with age; 50.6 +/- 9.2 ml/100 g/min at 4 weeks, 49.8 +/- 8.1 at 3 months and 44.1 +/- 5.6 at 6 months. The upper limit of autoregulation was markedly raised with age; 118 +/- 5 mm Hg at 4 weeks, 180 +/- 7 at 3 months and 208 +/- 10 at 6 months. Acute sympathetic denervation lowered the upper limits to 105 +/- 2, 162 +/- 4 and 185 +/- 7 mm Hg, respectively. On the other hand, in chronic denervation which was made at 4 weeks of age, the upper limit of autoregulation in the denervated hemisphere was slightly lower than that in innervated hemisphere at 2 months (165 +/- 5 and 178 +/- 6 mm Hg), and at 5 months (202 +/- 8 and 215 +/- 8 mm Hg) after ganglionectomy.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)