A double-labeling method combining immunohistochemistry and a retrograde tracer technique using biotin-horseradish peroxidase (B-HRP) was employed to identify a descending somatostatinergic fiber system from the insular cortex to the spinal cord. Injection of B-HRP into the spinal cord at cervical or lumbar levels resulted in the labeling of a number of neurons in the insular cortex. Simultaneous immunostaining revealed the existence of double-labeled neurons in the insular cortex. The result provides direct evidence for the presence of a descending somatostatinergic pathway from the insular cortex to lumbar levels of the spinal cord.