Changes in the c-wave of the electroretinogram and in the standing potential of the eye after small doses of toluene and styrene.

Low and moderate i.v. doses of toluene or styrene dissolved in a lipid emulsion (Intralipid) were given to cynomolgus monkeys. The d.c. ERG and the standing potential (SP) of the eye were recorded directly with corneal contact lenses, very stable calomel electrodes and under very constant general anaesthesia. Even small doses of the solvents, corresponding approximately to the Swedish hygienic threshold limit values for these solvents in air, clearly provoked slow variations with time in the amplitude of the c-wave of the ERG and in the SP level. Both potentials are generated mainly in the pigment epithelium. It is suggested that the effects reflect a direct influence of the solvents upon i.a. the cell membrane or the metabolism of the pigment epithelium.