Norepinephrine (NE) and neuropeptide Y (NPY) potentiate carbohydrate ingestion after injection into the paraventricular nucleus (PVN), whereas injection of galanin (Gal) potentiates fat intake. The present study examines the relation between these neurochemically induced feeding behaviors and the adrenal steroids acting locally within the PVN. Results demonstrate that PVN NE- and NPY-induced carbohydrate intake is abolished by adrenalectomy surgery (ADX) and by local PVN implants of the type II receptor antagonist RU-486. Carbohydrate intake in response to PVN NE or NPY injection is unaffected by the type I antagonist RU-28318. In contrast, the stimulatory effect of PVN Gal injection on fat intake is unchanged by surgical ADX or by PVN administration of RU-486 or RU-28318, suggesting that the stimulatory action of Gal on fat ingestion occurs independently of corticosterone (Cort) and of PVN type I or type II steroid receptors. It is concluded that endogenous Cort has a permissive effect on the carbohydrate feeding responses elicited by NE and NPY in the PVN and that this interaction is mediated by type II glucocorticoid receptors within this nucleus.