Exposure to methylene chloride. II. Psychological functions.

The effect of the solvent methylene chloride on psychological functions such as reaction time, short-term memory, and numerical ability was studied in 14 healthy male subjects. Each subject was tested repeatedly during exposure to 870, 1,740, 2,600, and 3,470 mg/m3 of methylene choride in inspiratory air and during control conditions. Samples of sub ject alveolar air were taken every third minute during the experiments. No statistically significant impairement in the performance of examined functions could be observed during exposure to methylene choride as compared to control conditions. Inexposure to the highest concentration a greater irregularity of response was obtained for subject reaction time than under control conditions.