Toluene, a solvent found in paint removers, glues, and other
common household products, is often the first substance abused
by young people, who inhale its dangerous fumes. A recent NIDA-
funded study has shown that toluene's behavioral and
neurobiological effects bear similarities to those of both
stimulants and depressants, while another study mapped the
drug's impact on brain metabolism. The findings lay groundwork
for new prevention strategies. Various animal studies have
indicated that abused inhalants have subjective effects like
those of central nervous system depressants. Now, Dr. Scott E.
Bowen at Wayne State University in Detroit has demonstrated
that, in adult mice, the subjective experience of toluene also,
in some ways, resembles that produced by amphetamine. Dr. Bowen
injected mice alternately with amphetamine and saline and
trained them to seek rewards by pressing the correct lever—one
after amphetamine and the other after saline. He showed that
under the influence of toluene, the animals presse