The purpose of our study was to determine if there is a central abnormality in the arterial baroreceptor reflex control of renal nerve activity in renal hypertension. We recorded simultaneously the changes in aortic (input) and renal (output) nerve traffic during phenylephrine-induced increases in arterial pressure in 14 normotensive and 11 hypertensive rabbits [mean arterial pressure (+/- SE) in conscious state 106 +/- 2 and 141 +/- 6 mmHg, respectively]. Changes in aortic nerve traffic were considered representative of changes in total arterial baroreceptor input to the central nervous system. Renal nerve traffic was inhibited by 5.2 +/- 0.5% per mmHg rise in arterial pressure in normotensive rabbits but by only 2.5 +/- 0.3% per mmHg in hypertensive rabbits (P less than 0.05). Increases of aortic nerve traffic during increases in arterial pressure were similar in the two groups. These data suggest that there is a central abnormality in the baroreflex control of renal nerve activity in renal hypertensive rabbits. This hypothesis was tested further by sectioning vagal, carotid, and aortic nerves and stimulating electrically the left aortic depressor nerve while recording changes in blood pressure and renal sympathetic nerve traffic. Decreases of renal traffic during stimulation of myelinated fibers alone were strikingly impaired (P less than 0.001) at all frequencies in hypertensive rabbits. Responses were not impaired significantly during stimulation of myelinated plus nonmyelinated fibers. Arterial pressure decreases were not different during stimulation of myelinated fibers or of both myelinated and nonmyelinated fibers.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)