NMDA receptor binding is reduced within mesocorticolimbic regions following chronic inhalation of toluene in adolescent rats.

The purposeful inhalation of volatile solvents, such as toluene, to induce self-intoxication is prevalent, particularly within adolescent populations. Chronic misuse results in cognitive and neurobiological impairments, as well as an increased risk for addictive behaviours in adulthood. Toluene-induced neuroadaptations within mesocorticolimbic circuitry are thought, in part, to mediate some of the adverse outcomes of toluene misuse, however our understanding of the neuroadaptive processes remains equivocal.

Spatial Learning Requires mGlu5 Signalling in the Dorsal Hippocampus.

We examined the role of hippocampal metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGlu5) in spatial learning and memory. Although it has been shown that mGlu5 signalling is required for certain forms of learning and memory, its role in spatial learning is unclear since studies using pharmacological or knockout mice models provide inconsistent findings. Additionally, the location in the brain where mGlu5 signalling may modulate such learning is yet to be precisely delineated.

Adolescent toluene inhalation in rats affects white matter maturation with the potential for recovery following abstinence.

Inhalant misuse is common during adolescence, with ongoing chronic misuse associated with neurobiological and cognitive abnormalities. While human imaging studies consistently report white matter abnormalities among long-term inhalant users, longitudinal studies have been lacking with limited data available regarding the progressive nature of such abnormalities, including the potential for recovery following periods of sustained abstinence. We exposed adolescent male Wistar rats (postnatal day 27) to chronic intermittent inhaled toluene (3,000 ppm) for 1 hour/day, 3 times/week for 8 weeks to model abuse patterns observed in adolescent and young adult human users.