Inhalational exposure to organic solvents is known to exert neurotoxic effects. Using the new multielectrode dish system (Panasonic) the effects of chronic exposure to trichloroethylene (TCE) on neuronal plasticity were assessed in different regions of the adult rat brain. Two groups of Long-Evans rats were exposed to 0 ppm or 500 ppm TCE, respectively, 6 h/day, 5 days/week for 6 months. Long-term potentiation (LTP) as well as paired-pulse potentiation/inhibition were assessed in slices from the visual cortex and the hippocampus. In addition, several behavioral tests were performed. Trichloroethanol concentrations were measured in blood and trichloroacetic acid concentrations were determined in urine. While TCE exposure impaired LTP as well as paired-pulse potentiation in hippocampal slices, no effects were seen in cortical slices. Our data demonstrate brain region specific functional changes following TCE exposure with the hippocampus being more vulnerable than the visual cortex. The behavioral measurements revealed no TCE related effects.

中文翻译：

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长期暴露于三氯乙烯会影响大鼠海马切片的神经元可塑性。

吸入接触有机溶剂会产生神经毒性作用。使用新的多电极培养皿系统（Panasonic），在成年大鼠大脑的不同区域评估了长期暴露于三氯乙烯（TCE）对神经元可塑性的影响。两组Long-Evans大鼠分别于6小时/天，5天/周暴露于0 ppm或500 ppm TCE，持续6个月。在视觉皮层和海马的切片中评估了长期增强（LTP）以及成对脉冲增强/抑制。此外，还进行了一些行为测试。测定血液中的三氯乙醇浓度，测定尿液中的三氯乙酸浓度。尽管TCE暴露会损害海马切片中的LTP以及成对脉冲增强，但在皮质切片中未见效果。我们的数据表明，TCE暴露后海马比视觉皮层更容易受到大脑区域特定功能的影响。行为测量显示没有与TCE相关的影响。