Learning impairment in mice following acute exposure to dichloromethane and carbon tetrachloride

Mice were exposed via inhalation to high concentrations of either dichloromethane (168 mg/l) or carbon tetrachloride (134.3 mg/l). The mice were tested for learning ability using a passive-avoidance conditioning task. Exposed animals were found to have a significantly decreased ability to learn when compared with controls. The 3-wk-old mice were more affected than the 5-wk-old and the 8-wk-old mice. The exposed animals were indistinguishable from controls in terms of motor activity, weight gain, and absence of analgesia.