The classic view for hypothalamic regulation of anterior pituitary (AP) hormone secretion holds that release of each AP hormone is controlled specifically by a corresponding hypothalamic-releasing hormone (HRH). In this scenario, binding of a given HRH (thyrotropin-, growth hormone-, corticotropin-, and luteinizing hormone-releasing hormones) to specific receptors in its target cell increases the concentration of cytosolic Ca 2؉ ([Ca 2؉ ] i ), thereby selectively stimulating the release of the appropriate hormone. However, ''paradoxical'' responses of AP cells to the four wellestablished HRHs have been observed repeatedly with both in vivo and in vitro systems, raising the possibility of functional overlap between the different AP cell types. To explore this possibility, we evaluated the effects of HRHs on [Ca 2؉ ] i in single AP cells identified immunocytochemically by the hormone they stored. We found that each of the five major AP cell types contained discrete subpopulations that were able to respond to several HRHs. The relative abundance of these multi-responsive cells was 59% for lactotropes, 33% for thyrotropes, and in the range of 47-55% for gonadotropes, corticotropes, and somatotropes. Analysis of prolactin release from single living cells revealed that each of the four HRHs tested were able to induce hormone release from a discrete lactotrope subpopulation, the size of which corresponded closely to that in which [Ca 2؉ ] i changes were induced by the same secretagogues. When viewed as a whole, our diverse functional measurements of multi-responsiveness suggest that hypothalamic control of pituitary function is more complicated than previously envisioned. Moreover, they provide a cellular basis for the so-called ''paradoxical'' behavior of pituitary cells to hypothalamic hypophysiotropic agents.The pituitary gland is a major neuroendocrine modulator that regulates many peripheral glands and tissues through the secretion of anterior pituitary (AP) hormones. These hormones include prolactin (PRL), growth hormone (GH), thyrotropin (TSH), adrenocorticotropin, and the gonadotropins [follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH)]. The secretory activity of the gland is controlled, in turn, by signals derived from the hypothalamus in the form of hypothalamic-releasing hormones (HRHs) such as thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH), growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH), corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), and gonadotropin-releasing hormone (LHRH). The classic view for hypothalamic control of AP hormone secretion holds that each major HRH modulates the secretion of a single pituitary hormone (1), but there are some notable exceptions to this rule. For example, TRH is acknowledged to be a physiological modulator of both TSH and PRL secretion, just as LHRH controls the release of both LH and FSH. In addition to these acknowledged exceptions, there have been sporadic reports about ''paradoxical'' responses to various HRHs. Such observations of AP hormone release elicited by a noncorresp...