Abstract
The effects of toluene inhalation on the contents of amino acid neurotransmitters in rat brain were investigated and blood toluene concentrations inducing changes of behavior and amino acid neurotransmitter contents in rat brain were observed. Male wistar rats were exposed to toluene vapor (single dose : 1700, 5000 and 10000 ppm for 2 hrs, repeated dose : 1700 and 5000 ppm for 2 hrs/day$\times$6 days). Toluene concentrations in blood and the inhalation chamber were assayed by GC with headspace sampler. HPLC method following PITC derivatization was used to measure the amino acid contents in brain tissues such as frontal cortex, caudate, hippocampus, cerebellum and brain stem. Glutamic acid and aspartic acid levels were increased by single inhalation of toluene (5000 ppm) in all the brain areas assayed in this experiment. In caudate and cerebellum, taurine levels were decreased by single inhalation of low dose toluene (1700 ppm), but increased by repeated administration. At high blood toluene concentration, GABA levels were increased in all the brain areas assayed in this experiment and the increasing extents of inhibitory amino acid contents measured in caudate and hippocampus were greater than those of excitatory amino acids. These results suggest that the changes of amino acid neurotransmitter contents in brain by exposure to toluene may modulate toluene-induced behaviors.
