Citation:

Boyes, W., L. Degn, S. Martin, D. Lyke, CharlesW Hamm, AND D. Herr. Neurophysiological Assessment of Auditory, Peripheral Nerve, Somatosensory, and Visual System Functions after Developmental Exposure to Ethanol Vapors. NEUROTOXICOLOGY AND TERATOLOGY. Elsevier Science Ltd, New York, NY, 1(43):1-2, (2014).

Impact/Purpose:

Ethanol-blended gasoline entered the market in response to demand for domestic renewable energy sources, and may result in increased inhalation of ethanol vapors in combination with other volatile gasoline constituents. It is impottant to understand potential risks of inhalation of ethanol vapors by themselves, and also as a baseline for evaluating the risks of ethanol combined with a complex mixture of hydrocarbon vapors.

Description:

Ethanol-blended gasoline entered the market in response to demand for domestic renewable energy sources, and may result in increased inhalation of ethanol vapors in combination with other volatile gasoline constituents. It is important to understand potential risks of inhalation of ethanol vapors by themselves, and also as a baseline for evaluating the risks of ethanol combined with a complex mixture of hydrocarbon vapors. Because sensory dysfunction has been reported after developmental exposure to ethanol, we evaluated the effects of developmental exposure to ethanol vapors on neurophysiological measures of sensory function as a component of a larger project involving developmental ethanol toxicity. Pregnant Long-Evans rats were exposed to nominal concentrations 0, 5000, 10000, or 21000 ppm ethanol vapors for 6.5 h/day over GD9 - GD2O. Sensory evaluations of male offspring began between PND1O6 —PND128. Peripheral nerve function (compound action potentials, nerve conduction velocity (NCV)), somatosensory (cortical and cerebellar evoked potentials), auditory (brainstem auditory evoked responses), and visual evoked responses were assessed. Visual function assessment included pattern elicited visual evoked potentials (VEP), VEP contrast sensitivity, and electroretinograms recorded from dark-adapted (scotopic), light-adapted (photopic) flashes, and UV and green flicker. No consistent dose-related changes were observed for any of the physiological measures. All physiological responses showed changes related to stimulation intensity, which provided an estimate of detectable levels of change. The results show that gestational exposure to ethanol exposure did not result in detectable changes in peripheral nerve, somatosensory, auditory, or visual function when the offspring were assessed as adults. Future studies will evaluate inhalation exposure to vapors from ethanol-gasoline blended fuels.

Record Details: