In the debate on chronic effects of solvent use, it is ofen difJicult to fitid informution on the cerebral health status of subjects before any exposure has occurred. The objective of this study was to obtain baseline data by examitiatiori of workers at the beginning of their occupational lives. This study compares the performance of 57 apprentice painters, mean age 16.6 f 1.2 years, with thut of 62 apprentices, mean age 16.2 f years, draHn from other manual trades involving no signvieant exposure to solvents. Their performances were compared twice over a period of 3 years using a series of behavioral tests chosen from a translated Lpersion of the Neurobehavioral Evaluution System (NES). There were no tnajor differences in performance between the apprentices, except for the verbal ability test, which showed lower results for painters. This can he explained by fcctors such as socioeconomic background, previous schooling, or mother tongue, and raises the question o j whether it is approprinte to use such a test to adjust for the influence of premorbid ability in elderly exposed workers. 0 1996 Wiles-Liss, hie.