The effects of prolonged administration of the gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor agonist muscimol on enhanced induction of gastric carcinogenesis by N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), and on the norepinephrine concentration in the gastric wall and the labeling index of gastric mucosa were investigated. SHR and normotensive Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats as controls were given a solution of MNNG (25 micrograms/ml) for 25 weeks and then i.p. injections of 0.5 mg/kg body weight of muscimol every other day. In control WKY rats, gastric cancers were found in 1 (7%) of 14 rats examined at week 52. In SHR treated with NaCl solution only, the incidence of gastric cancers was significantly increased to 50% compared with that in control WKY rats. However, treatment of SHR with muscimol significantly increased its incidence to 12% compared with the value in SHR treated with NaCl solution only. The norepinephrine concentration in the gastric wall and the labeling index of the gastric mucosa were significantly greater in SHR than in WKY rats. Prolonged administration of muscimol to SHR significantly reduced the norepinephrine concentration in the antral portion of the gastric wall or the labeling index of the antral epithelial cells. These findings indicate that long-term treatment of SHR with muscimol attenuated the enhancement of gastric carcinogenesis in SHR.