Norepinephrine is generally regarded as an inhibitor of insulin release. It has been shown, however, that under hyperglycemic circumstances, norepinephrine infused at a high dose may also stimulate insulin secretion. The goals of this study were, under normoglycemic conditions, to confirm this stimulatory effect and to determine whether a beta-adrenergic mechanism or central neural pathways were involved. Secretion of pancreatic somatostatin and glucagon were also studied. Fasted, anesthetized dogs had norepinephrine (2 micrograms X kg-1 X min-1) infused into a peripheral vein for 60 min; blood was sampled from the pancreaticoduodenal vein. Norepinephrine stimulated insulin, somatostatin, and glucagon secretion without significant changes in either blood glucose concentration or pancreaticoduodenal venous blood flow. The stimulatory effect of norepinephrine on the three hormones was abolished by propranolol pretreatment, thus implicating a beta-adrenergic mechanism. Because bilateral cervical vagotomy prevented stimulation of insulin secretion by norepinephrine, central neural pathways must have been involved in the stimulatory process. However, norepinephrine-induced glucagon secretion was not decreased by vagotomy, showing that the stimulation was due to either a direct action on the pancreatic A cell or of a central pathway not mediated via the vagus nerve. Norepinephrine-induced somatostatin secretion was partly reduced by vagotomy, indicating that several mechanisms could be implicated.