Olfactory sensitivity of rats with transection of the lateral olfactory tract

Rats with discrete transection of the lateral olfactory tract (LOT) were tested using operant conditioning and psychophysical methods for their amyl acetate intensity difference threshold and absolute detection threshold. Experimental rats performed as well as controls on the easiest problems of both threshold series but their intensity difference threshold was approximately 2.5 times as high as controls and their absolute detection threshold was approximately 2.25 orders of magnitude higher than controls. The deficit in sensitivity in both tests was related to the frontal level at which the tract was cut; rats with the most rostral transection had the greatest increase in threshold. The absolute detection threshold of rats with transection of the LOT was increased to that of normal human subjects tested with the same apparatus.