Murine corticotropin releasing factor (rCRF), injected intracerebroventricularly into rats at a dose of 10 micrograms produced increased motor activity, grooming, and recurrent episodes of epileptic activity localized in the hippocampal leads. Such activity persisted for approximately 5 h and was characterized by recurrent trains of biphasic spikes never associated with behavioral signs of epilepsy. The intraperitoneal administration of carbamazepine (15 and 30 mg/kg) reduced the epileptic activity for approximately 90 and 120 min, respectively, whereas that of naloxone (8 mg/kg) was ineffective. The results suggest that rCRF-induced spiking activity might be a model of temporal lobe epilepsy.