The influence of cold stress, heat stress, or various agents on the development of brain edema were assessed in rats following a cryogenic brain lesion. Brain edema was induced by local cold injury to the cortex. Cerebral edema was assessed 0.5, 3.0 or 24 h after a cryogenic brain lesion by measuring the water content of two hemispheres. Pretreatment of animals with sodium pentobarbital (15 or 30 mg/kg, i.p.) or lidocaine (15 mg/kg, i.p.) did not influence the development of brain edema. In addition, pretreatment with an external heat stress (heat exposure of 32 degrees C for 6 h) exaggerated significantly the development of brain edema in the rat following a cryogenic brain lesion. On the other hand, pretreatment of animals with either external cold stress (cold exposure of 8 degrees C for 6 h), glycerol (10% 10 ml, i.p.), mannitol (15% 10 ml, i.p.), gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (300 mg/kg, i.p.), metiamide (5 mg/kg, i.p.), dexamethasone (4 mg/kg, i.p.), aminophylline (100 mg/kg, i.p.), or ketamine (30 mg/kg, i.p.) inhibited significantly the brain edema formation.