The regeneration of central adrenergic axons has been followed between 5 days and 18 months after 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine(5,7-DHT)-induced axotomy in the adult rat, using fluorescence histochemistry in combination with noradrenaline (NA) determinations and [3H]NA uptake measurements. The axonal and terminal degeneration caused by the 5,7-DHT treatment (150 micrograms intraventricularly) was, by 1--2 weeks after injection, accompanied by a 70% reduction of NA in the forebrain and 30% reduction in the brain stem, and by 43--85% reductions in the [3H]NA uptake capacity in various regions of the brain and spinal cord. Signs of sprouting of the drug-lesioned axons were evident along the terminal axon segments at 5 days after treatment. The sprouts increased rapidly in length and number during the subsequent weeks and by 2--6 months after injection new NA terminal systems of relatively normal density and distribution had been re-established in many initially denervated regions. In parallel there was a recovery of endogenous NA and [3H]NA uptake to the pre-injection levels in the brain, and to levels 50--75% of normal in the cervical and thoracic spinal cord. Four successive phases of the regeneration process are distinguished: (1) primary sprouting from the lesioned NA axon stumps, occurring within the first week after treatment; (2) seemingly random growth and proliferation of the newly formed sprouts during the second and third weeks; (3) directed, forward growth of some of the sprouts leading to a partial restoration of the original fibre paths, branching patterns and terminal networks within 3--6 months; (4) a concomitant removal of at least part of the abnormally directed sprouts. Although the original fibre architecture was quite accurately restored in many areas the regeneration was not always correct. Hyperinnervation patterns and abnormal terminal arrangements were often formed, and in the spinal cord the down-growth of the regenerating axons occurred predominantly along a route that is inconspicuous in the normal rat. It is concluded that at least certain types of central neurons regenerate very efficiently provided the conditions are favourable, and that under such conditions axonal regeneration in the mammalian CNS is subjected to regulatory mechanisms that can be very precise. The results provide evidence that the adult mammalian CNS possesses mechanisms for axonal guidance which allow the accurate regeneration of lesioned axonal tracts and branching patterns, as well as mechanisms of recognition making possible the re-establishment of the original terminal connections.