[The neurobehavioral effects of solvents]

The paper correlates basic literature on the neuropsychological consequences and a wide range of organic solvents, which are known to induce disorders that range from a "neurasthenic-like" psychological disorders to dementia. By highlighting the type of impairments that are most likely to be associated with organic solvents and their mixtures human neurotoxic solvent syndromes are identified and assessed. The paper provides with a briefly description of classes of solvents, their common characteristics, routes of solvent exposure and general toxic effects. General assessment strategies as well as specific neuropsychological procedures and diagnostic criteria are discussed. The confounding of neuropsychological evaluation with individual characteristics, attitudes and life style, psychosocial and medical disturbances and group dynamic processes that hamper the correct causal attribution of exposure effects is considered.