Transections at two levels of the forebrain were undertaken in the rat to investigate the neural structures indispensable for the mediation of tail flick reflex suppression (TFRS) induced by low (2 Hz) and high (100 Hz) frequency electroacupuncture (EA) stimulation. Removal of the telencephalic structures did not affect TFRS produced by high frequency EA, although a mild and temporal attenuation was observed for low frequency EA-induced TFRS. Ablation of the whole forebrain (the telencephalon and diencephalon) resulted in a total abolishment of 2-Hz EA effect as measured 5, 24 and 72 h after surgery. In the meantime there was a moderate attenuation (-32.8%, P less than 0.05) of 100-Hz EA effect, which appeared 5 h after the operation and recovered after 24 h. The results indicate that (1) high frequency EA effect persisted in animals devoid of the whole forebrain structures; (2) an intact diencephalon is indispensable for the neural circuitry controlling low frequency EA-induced TFRS.