Recent observations on the neurobehavioral toxicity of carbon disulfide

Visual thresholds, fluorescein angiography, color fundus photography and tests of motor function were used to examine the effects of carbon disulfide (CS2) on macaque monkeys. After reliable baseline measures were obtained, two monkeys were exposed to 256 ppm CS2, 6 hours a day, 5 days each week for 7 weeks. A third monkey was tested similarly but received a sham exposure over the same period. Visual acuity of the exposed monkeys dropped more than 5 fold during exposure and showed a partial subsequent recovery only in one monkey. Flicker resolution, on the other hand, was only slightly and transiently impaired. Tests of motor function also showed only brief and partial disruption. No evidence was seen in either exposed monkey of the retinal vascular changes that are currently the major diagnostic signs in human carbon disulfide poisoning.