The effect of electrical brain stimulation (ESB; 50 Hz, 50-150 microA sine wave, 5 s on/5 s off) on osmotic thirst was examined in 10 conscious dogs chronically implanted with electrodes aimed at the anteromedial part of the basal forebrain. Suppression of osmotic thirst (SOT) was observed during stimulation through 18 of 41 electrodes located in the olfactory tubercle, the nucleus accumbens, the caudate nucleus, the medial septum, and the lateral preoptic-anterolateral hypothalamic area (PrA/ALH). Mean increment in plasma osmolality necessary to cause drinking rose from 9.0 +/- 1.5 mosmol (X +/- SE; n = 15) under control conditions to 15.8 +/- 2.6 mosmol (n = 18) during ESB in SOT placements. Threshold cellular dehydration eliciting drinking increased from 2.70 +/- 0.50% of intracellular water (ICW;n = 16) to 4.77 +/- 0.68% of ICW (n = 18), respectively. The strongest SOT was found during ESB in the nucleus accumbens, and the PrA/ALH. The same stimulation failed to inhibit feeding, support self-stimulation or produce appreciable changes of dog's gross behavior. The results give evidence for the existence in the basal forebrain of the dog a widely distributed neural system suppressing osmotic thirst. The nucleus accumbens and the PrA/ALH seem to play an important role in this system.