Compelling evidence shows that the episodic and cyclic secretion of hypothalamic luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LHRH), the primary stimulator of pituitary LH release, is subject to regulation by neuropeptide Y (NPY). We have reported earlier that sequential treatment of ovariectomized (ovx) rats with estrogen and progesterone to stimulate a preovulatory-type LH surge elevated the levels of both NPY and preproNPY mRNA levels in the hypothalamus concomitant with dynamic changes in LHRH activity. The present study was designed to determine whether these elevations in NPY content and gene expression represent new synthesis of NPY that is crucial to elicit LHRH discharge. Ovx, steroid-primed rats received intracerebroventricular injections of an unmodified 20-mer oligodeoxynucleotide (oligo) complementary to the NPY mRNA sequence. Control rats were injected similarly with either saline or the sense or missense oligos. Results showed that control rats displayed a characteristic surge-type elevation in plasma LH levels that was not affected by the administration of missense or sense oligos. However, in rats injected with the antisense oligo, the steroid-induced LH surge was completely blocked. In an additional experiment, NPY peptide levels were measured in microdissected hypothalamic sites following the injection of antisense or missense oligos. NPY antisense oligo administration blocked the significant increases in NPY levels in the median eminence-arcuate area, the medial preoptic area and lateral preoptic area seen in control rats. These results suggest that sequential ovarian steroid treatment augments NPY synthesis in the hypothalamus and this newly synthesized NPY is critical for induction of the LHRH and LH surge.