In situ hybridization histochemistry has been employed to determine the distribution of the mRNA encoding a recently cloned rat galanin receptor (rGalR1). The galanin receptor mRNA has been found to be discretely localized in rat brain. The most intense hybridization signals were found over neurons in the nucleus of the lateral olfactory tract, in the ventral posterior hippocampus, and in the lateral external subdivision of the parabrachial nucleus. A number of other brain regions also contain significant hybridization signals, including the hypothalamus, brain stem and spinal cord. The localization of rGalR1 mRNA indicates that this receptor may play a role in the varied functions ascribed to GAL, among them feeding, cognition and modulation of sensory information.