PSYCHOMETRIC TESTS FOR ASSESSMENT OF BRAIN-FUNCTION AFTER SOLVENT EXPOSURE

Psychometric testing is a key issue in neuropsychological toxicology a ssessment. Evaluation of methods for assessing general intellectual im pairment is necessary as conventional neurology has been shown to be i nsensitive to the neurotoxic effects of solvents and metals. This stud y presents an analysis of a psychometric test battery from an investig ation of psycho-organic syndrome in a historical cohort of 96 metal de greasers with long-term exposure to solvents, particularly trichloroet hylene. The neuropsychological test battery was a combination of Wechs ler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS), Luria, and tests developed in Sca ndinavia. Linear regression analysis showed a significant dose-respons e relation between increasing cumulative solvent exposure and impaired psychometric test performance in 9 out of 15 tests. Multivariate anal ysis, however, suggests that much of the variance was due to confoundi ng variables, especially age, and to a lesser degree, primary intellec tual function and word blindness. After control for confounding factor s the strongest association with solvent exposure occurred for the fol lowing three tests: acoustic-motor function, Paced Auditory Serial Add ition Test (PASAT), and the visual gestalt test. (C) 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.