Repeated inhalation of toluene by rats performing a signal detection task leads to behavioral tolerance on some performance measures.

Previous work showed that trichloroethylene (TCE) impairs sustained attention as evidenced by a reduction in accuracy and elevation of response latencies in rats trained to perform a visual signal detection task (SDT). This work also showed that these effects abate during repeated exposures if rats inhale TCE while performing the SDT. The present experiment sought to determine whether toluene, another commonly-used solvent, would induce tolerance similarly if inhaled repeatedly during SDT testing. Sixteen male, Long-Evans rats were trained to perform the SDT. Upon completion of training, rats were divided into 2 groups. In Phase I, concentration-effect functions were determined for toluene (0, 1200, 1600, 2000, 2400 ppm) in both groups. Toluene reduced the proportion of correct responses [P(correct)], and increased response time (RT) and response failures. In Phase II, Group-Tol inhaled 1600 ppm toluene while Group-Air inhaled clean air during 11 daily SDT sessions. In Group-Tol the effect of toluene on P(correct) abated after 3 days, while RT remained elevated for the duration of the repeated exposures. In Phase III, toluene concentration-effect functions were re-determined for both groups. Group-Air remained impaired on all test measures, whereas for Group-Tol, toluene did not reduce P(correct), but continued to increase RT. These data confirm our previous hypothesis that animals can develop tolerance to chemical exposures that impair appetitively-motivated behaviors if that impairment leads to loss of reinforcement.