Exteroceptive suppression of temporalis and masseter muscle activity was examined in young men with and without a parental history of hypertension. Recent clinical studies suggest that the second exteroceptive suppression period is attenuated in several chronic pain disorders and that this brainstem reflex may serve as a noninvasive index of endogenous pain control. In the present study, offspring of hypertensives exhibited a significant protraction of the late exteroceptive suppression period for both muscle sites, suggesting that the decreased pain sensitivity previously observed in individuals at risk for hypertension may be related to enhanced central pain modulation.