The effects of ageing on local rates of protein synthesis in 39 brain structures in resting conscious rats have been examined. Young adult rats (aged 6 months) have been compared with a group of middle-aged/aged rats (aged 15-23 months). The results show that ageing is associated with significant decreases in rates of protein synthesis in the brain as a whole as well as in several specific brain regions. Brain regions involved in visual and auditory function were selectively affected, perhaps due to a chronic lack of sensory input. Several regions involved in motor function and two areas in the limbic system had significantly decreased rates of protein synthesis in the old rats. Notably, there was a significant age-related decrease in protein synthesis in the locus coeruleus which contains the cell bodies of origin of the major ascending noradrenergic innervation of the cortex.