Acute administration of corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) has been shown to inhibit gonadotropin secretion in several species including rodents, sheep, humans, and nonhuman primates. Similarly, a variety of acute stressors have been shown to inhibit tonic gonadotropin secretion and may do so through a CRH mechanism. Stress-induced inhibition of tonic gonadotropin secretion below levels required for follicular maturation would be expected to inhibit ovulation. An additional mechanism whereby acute stressors could interfere with ovulation is through inhibition of the preovulatory gonadotropin surge. In the present study, we determined the effect of acute activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis on phasic gonadotropin secretion in female rhesus monkeys. Activation of the HPA axis was achieved by either a hypoglycemic challenge or blockage of cortisol synthesis with metyrapone, 24 h after an estradiol benzoate challenge. Neither metyrapone nor insulin-induced hypoglycemia inhibited gonadotropin secretion. In fact, the initiation of the luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone surge was advanced by 7.4 +/- 0.4 h (p < 0.001) and 4.8 +/- 1.4 h (p = 0.04) respectively, in metyrapone-treated monkeys compared with saline controls. By contrast, hypoglycemia did not affect the gonadotropin surge. The gonadotropin surge was preceded by increased progesterone secretion in metyrapone-treated but not insulin-treated monkeys. This difference in progesterone secretion likely explains the advancement of the gonadotropin surge in the metyrapone-treated animals.