Changes induced by xylene and alcohol in human evoked potentials

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Toxicology
• Occupational Health

Background:

• Growing interest in the neurotoxic effects of industrial solvents.
• Limited research using evoked potential methods to assess solvent and alcohol neurotoxicity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the acute neurotoxic effects of xylene and alcohol exposure, alone and in combination, using evoked potential methods.
• To evaluate changes in visual (VEPs) and somatosensory (SEPs) evoked potentials and electroretinograms (ERGs).

Main Methods:

• Eight healthy male volunteers were exposed to xylene (700 or 1200 mg/m3) alone or with alcohol (0.8 g/kg) for 4 hours.
• Control days and single alcohol doses (0.4 or 0.8 g/kg) were also administered.
• VEPs, SEPs, and ERGs were recorded before and after exposure in a single-blind, within-subject design.

Main Results:

• Alcohol dose-dependently increased VEP latencies (P50, N60, P115, N155).
• Xylene (1200 mg/m3) combined with alcohol significantly decreased VEP N60-P115 amplitude.
• Xylene alone and at lower concentrations with alcohol showed similar trends; xylene exposure tended to counteract alcohol's latency effects.
• No significant effects were observed on ERGs; SEP effects were minor.

Conclusions:

• Alcohol significantly impacts VEP latency, while combined exposure with xylene affects VEP amplitude.
• Xylene may mitigate some of alcohol's effects on VEP latency.
• Evoked potential methods can detect neurotoxic effects of solvent and alcohol exposure.