Experimental study of the volatile petroleum products effect on the central nervous system

Objective: The goal of the research is studying the functional changes in the central nervous system against the background of intoxication with the minimum dosages of gasoline, benzene and acetone.Methods: The research was performed on 45 white mice divided into 3 groups; each group received corresponding hydrocarbon in the exposure chamber by inhaling. The functional state of the CNS was assessed with a complex of integral tests: By summation of subliminal pulses, the ability of animals to restore rectilinear movement after centrifugation, by the tone of skeletal muscles, and by the activity of muscle static work.Results: The durations of the narcosis phases in case of acute inhalation poisoning are different for all studied substances. The study of the functional changes in the CNS on the background of intoxication with low dosages has revealed that at the first exposure to benzene for activating the motor reaction the required number of electric pulses from the outside increases, the muscle tone increases, the ability to static work reduces, and the time for rectilinear movement and “animal hypnosis” increases. At the same time, on the background of intoxication during the fifth exposure, a decrease is observed in the number of electric pulses from the outside for activating the motor reaction, the muscle tone remains increased, the ability to static work is reduced, and the time of “animal hypnosis” is shorter than that during the first exposure.Conclusion: Against the background of the repeated use of small doses of benzene, the CNS adapts to the action of the toxic factor. With that, the ability of the CNS to sum the subliminal pulses, the cholinergic innervation of the skeletal muscles tone and other integral tests during the fifth exposure change less than during the first exposure.