The cytochemical technique for the demonstration of cytochrome oxidase has been used to locate the sites of chronically active neurons in the CNS. The current experiments were undertaken to validate the use of this technique for the identification of active neurons and ganglia in the myenteric plexus of the gut. The excitotoxin veratridine was used to cause repetitive firing of action potentials and to depolarize myenteric neurons over an 8-hour test period in vitro. The effects of veratridine were monitored electrophysiologically and correlated with the ability of the drug to affect the density of the cytochrome oxidase reaction product, as well as the proportion of reactive myenteric neurons. The action of veratridine on cytochrome oxidase activity was evaluated by means of video microdensitometry and computer-assisted morphometry. Effects of veratridine were considered to be specific if they were blocked by the inclusion of tetrodotoxin (TTX), which antagonizes the action of veratridine on voltage-dependent Na+ channels. Veratridine (1.0 microM) depolarized the membranes of myenteric type II neurons and greatly increased both the average density of the cytochrome oxidase reaction product in individual neuronal cell bodies and the proportion that were reactive. The concentration-effect relationship for veratridine was biphasic. As the concentration of veratridine was raised, neurons became sufficiently depolarized such that they ceased to fire action potentials. This absence of spiking was associated with a decline in the stimulation of cytochrome oxidase activity by veratridine. At still higher concentrations of veratridine the degree of neuronal depolarization continued to increase. This further depolarization was associated with a secondary increase in cytochrome oxidase activity. All effects of veratridine were blocked by TTX. It is concluded that the cytochemical demonstration of cytochrome oxidase reflects the recent metabolic history and thus the physiological activity of myenteric neurons. In control preparations, fixed without exposure to veratridine, considerable variation in cytochrome oxidase was observed between ganglia and between individual neurons within ganglia. This suggests that there are significant differences in the activity of individual ganglia and neurons of the myenteric plexus. These observations support the hypothesis that there is a functional heterogeneity that corresponds to an anatomical heterogeneity (previously demonstrated) of the myenteric plexus.