title: Regional brain effects of sodium azide treatment on cytochrome oxidase activity: a quantitative histochemical study.
abstract: The objective of the present study was to determine if regional variation in brain cytochrome oxidase activity was observed following systemic administration of sodium azide. An image analysis system calibrated with internal standards of known cytochrome oxidase activity was used to quantify cytochrome oxidase in histochemically stained brain sections. Rats receiving chronic infusion of sodium azide (400 micrograms/hr), which were sacrificed after two weeks, showed a substantial decrease in brain cytochrome oxidase activity over those infused with saline. All of the 22 regions sampled from telencephalic, diencephalic, and mesencephalic levels, showed a significant activity reduction which ranged between 26% and 37%. The regions that appeared significantly more vulnerable to the sodium azide effects were the mesencephalic reticular formation and the central amygdala, which displayed the largest decrease in activity. In addition, interregional correlations of activity showed a deeply modified pattern of correlative metabolic activity between hippocampal, amygdaloid and cortical areas after azide treatment. The regional effects found were consistent with azide-induced learning and memory dysfunctions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cada
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gonzalez-Lima
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Rose
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Bennett
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001386:Azides / Q000633:toxicity*; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology*; D001923:Brain Chemistry / Q000187:drug effects; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002248:Carbon Monoxide / Q000378:metabolism; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000633:toxicity*; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D019810:Sodium Azide
chemical_list: D001386:Azides; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D002248:Carbon Monoxide; D019810:Sodium Azide; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV