Changes in Middle Latency Auditory-Evoked Potentials of the Rat Exposed to Styrene

Abstract

Effects of styrene exposure on middle latency auditory-evoked potentials (MAEPs), which reflect the central auditory function, were investigated. As significant delay in latencies of No, Po, Na, and Pa components and increases in the peak to peak intervals of MAEPs, but not amplitudes, were observed in a dose-dependent manner, The present and our previous studies demonstrate that electrophysiological alterations occur before neuronal cell damage induced by styrene exposure. The present results suggested that styrene has a marked effect on the processing of auditory information related to MAEPs.