The aim of the research was to study the structural and functional changes in axonal terminals in layers I, III, and V of the sensorimotor cortex (SMC) of the brain of Wistar rats after the common carotid artery (CCA) bilateral ligation using immunohistochemical and apparatus-microscopic methods. Material and methods. Incomplete cerebral ischemia was modeled by bilateral ligation of the common carotid arteries (CCA - 2-vessel model of global ischemia without hypotension) in white Wistar rats (n=36). SMC was studied in the control (intact rats, n=6), 1, 3, 7, 14 and 30 days (n=30) after POCA. Nissl, hematoxylin-eosin, immunohistochemical reactions for p38, and electron microscopy were used. The total number density and relative area of axonal terminals were determined. Statistical hypotheses were tested using nonparametric methods for pairwise and multiple comparisons using the Statistica 8.0 program. Results. After CCA bilateral ligation, the content of degeneratively altered neurons in the rat brain SMC increased. Changes in the SMC neurons were accompanied by neuropil hyperhydration and reactive astrogliosis. The total number density of terminals in all SMC layers decreased statistically significantly after 1 day (by 28.6% in layer I, 46.9% in layer III, and 46.4% in layer V) and remained approximately at this level throughout the entire observation period. . The relative area of synaptic terminals differed in the compared SMC layers. In layers I and III of the SMC, the values of this indicator first (days 1 and 3) decreased, and then (days 7, 14, and 30) they increased. In layer V of the SMC, activation of the expression of this protein occurred already in the acute period (days 1 and 3), decreased after 7 and 14 days, and increased again after 30 days. Ultrastructural examination revealed more small terminal axonal branches. However, the general trend of changes in the number of terminals was similar. Conclusion. After CCA bilateral ligation, destructive and compensatory-restorative changes in axonal terminals were revealed in layers I, III, and V of the rat MMC. The reorganization of interneuronal relationships occurred against the background of pronounced manifestations of neuropil hyperhydration. The maximum destruction of synaptic terminals was noted in layer III of the SMC, and their adaptive changes were observed in layer V. The results of immunohistochemical and ultrastructural studies are comparable and complement each other. All this can probably be considered as a structural basis for changes in the integrative-starting activity of the brain after CCA bilateral ligation.