RF-amide related peptide 3 (RFRP-3) is a neuropeptide thought to inhibit central regulation of fertility. We investigated whether alterations in RFRP neuronal activity led to changes in puberty onset, fertility and stress responses, including stress and glucocorticoid-induced suppression of pulsatile luteinizing hormone secretion. We first validated a novel RFRP-Cre mouse line which we then used in combination with Cre-dependent neuronal ablation and DREADD technology to selectively ablate, stimulate and inhibit RFRP neurons in order to interrogate their physiological roles in the regulation of fertility and stress responses. Chronic RFRP neuronal activation delayed male puberty onset and female reproductive cycle progression, but RFRP-activated and ablated mice exhibited apparently normal fertility. When subjected to either restraint- or glucocorticoid-induced stress paradigms. however, we observed a critical sex-specific role for RFRP neurons in mediating acute and chronic stress-induced reproductive sup...