A comparison of the effects of individual organic solvents and their mixture on brain stimulation reward.

In spite of the prevalence of solvent abuse, there are only a few experimental investigations on the addictive potential of household organic solvents. In the present study we attempted to investigate the influence of glue thinner, a very popular glue used by glue-sniffing children, and the four organic solvents that compose this thinner (toluene, mixture of petroleum hydrocarbons, ethyl acetate, methylene chloride) on self-stimulation of the lateral hypothalamus (ICSS) in rats. Glue thinner, toluene, a mixture of petroleum hydrocarbons, and methylene chloride had a biphasic effect on ICSS, increasing frequency of self-stimulation at lower concentrations and decreasing it at higher concentrations. Ethyl acetate decreased frequency of self-stimulation at all concentrations. In contrast to classically abused drugs, solvents increased the threshold current of self-stimulation. The differences between concentration-response curves of ICSS for glue thinner and solvents permit the proposal that the mixture of solvents can be more dangerous than the individual components in potential for inducing solvent abuse.