Effects of polyurethane and polyimide thermal decomposition products on shock escape and avoidance behavior.
Thirty-six male Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed for 15 minutes to the decomposition products of either a polyurethane or polyimide foam while performing an unsignalled shock escape-avoidance task. These products were generated by placing 1 g samples of the foams on a conductive plate heated to either 435, 605, or 775 degrees C. The decomposition products and behavioral toxicity of the 2 foams varied differentially with test temperature. At the 2 lower temperatures, the decomposition products of polyurethane proved to be more behaviorally disruptive than those of polyimide, while at 775 degrees C the reverse was true. These results indicate that operant behavior technology brings a sensitivity to material testing which may prove quite useful for future assessments of potential behavioral toxicity.
D000818:Animals; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000187:drug effects*; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects; D002263:Carboxyhemoglobin / Q000378:metabolism; D003216:Conditioning, Operant / Q000187:drug effects; D004924:Escape Reaction / Q000187:drug effects*; D005390:Fires; D008297:Male; D011140:Polyurethanes / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012117:Resins, Synthetic / Q000494:pharmacology*
D011140:Polyurethanes; D012117:Resins, Synthetic; C029945:polyimide resin; D002263:Carboxyhemoglobin