Chronic Organic Solvent Exposure Changes Visual Tracking in Men and Women

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Occupational Health
• Toxicology

Background:

• Chronic exposure to organic solvents can impair central nervous system (CNS) sensory and motor functions.
• Investigating neurotoxic changes requires sensitive methods to detect subtle functional alterations.
• Eye-movement analysis offers a potential non-invasive approach to assess CNS effects of solvent exposure.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of chronic organic solvent exposure on eye-movement patterns in adults.
• To determine if sex or body composition influences the relationship between solvent exposure and eye movements.
• To assess the utility of eye tracking in identifying visual information processing deficits in exposed workers.

Main Methods:

• Eye movements were recorded using a High-Speed Video Eye Tracker while participants viewed a maze image.
• Participants included 44 adults (22 men, 22 women), with half in each sex group exposed to organic solvents and half controls.
• Body composition was measured using Inbody 720 to explore potential correlations with eye-movement data.

Main Results:

• Individuals with chronic organic solvent exposure exhibited significantly more and longer eye fixations compared to non-exposed individuals.
• These significant differences in fixation number and duration were observed independently in both men and women exposed to solvents.
• No significant correlations were found between eye-movement patterns and body composition measures, nor significant differences between exposed men and women.

Conclusions:

• Chronic organic solvent exposure demonstrably affects eye movements, specifically increasing fixation count and duration.
• The observed effects on eye movements are independent of participant sex and body composition.
• Eye tracking serves as a valuable tool for detecting visual information processing disorders in workers exposed to organic solvents.