Changes in cytochrome oxidase activity of the rabbit olfactory cortex following unilateral olfactory bulbectomy

The effects of unilateral olfactory bulbectomy on cytochrome oxidase (CO) activity in the olfactory cortex were studied in adult rabbits. In intact rabbits, layer Ia of the olfactory cortex stained symmetrically for CO activity as a continuous brown band. In animals with unilateral lesion of the olfactory bulb (OB), a great decrease in the level of CO activity was found in layer Ia ipsilaterally. The change became prominent about 12 hr after OB lesion. Thereafter no further decrease in CO activity was observed up to 6 months. A decrease in the level of CO activity was observed in only the denervated lamina to which the OB neurons project directly, but not along the synaptic chain in the olfactory cortex.