Lewis (LEW/N) and Fischer (F344/N) rats represent two extremes of the spectrum of corticosterone responses to stressful stimuli, from the chronical hypo-responsiveness of LEW/N to the chronical hyperresponsiveness of F344/N. It might be expected that the amount of mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) and glucocorticoid receptor (GR) binding, and the levels of their corresponding mRNAs in various tissues in LEW/N and F344/N rats might reflect the overall integrated levels of corticosterone to which these receptors have been exposed. We have found that while the binding affinity (Kd) of MR and GR varies between tissues, there was no strain difference in any tissue. Receptor binding number (Bmax), however, varied not only between tissues, but also between strains. MR Bmaxin the hippocampus and pituitary was lower in LEW/N than in F344/N, whereas the GR Bmaxin the LEW/N thymus was greater than that found in F344/N rats. The hippocampal levels of MR mRNAs in Adx LEW/N and F344/N rats were in good agreement with, and paralleled, the functional levels of these receptors as determined by binding assays. On the other hand, the number of hippocampal GR binding sites and the level of GR nRNA while similar were not identical in the two strains: the hippocampal GR Bmaxdid not differ between strains, while the hippocampal GR mRNA level was slightly, but significantly, lower in Adx LEW/N compared to F344/N rats.