Behavioral Toxicology

Behavioral toxicology.

The new fields of behavioral toxicology and behavioral teratology investigate the outcome of specific toxic exposures in humans and animals on learning, memory, and behavioral characteristics. Three important classes of behavioral neurotoxicants are metals, solvents, and pesticides. The clearest data on the deleterious effects of prenatal exposure to toxicants comes from the study of two metals...

Use of activity measures in behavioral toxicology.

Locomotor activity measurements have been used extensively to evaluate chemically-induced changes in CNS function. This paper focuses on several factors including apparatus, age, biological rhythm, and social setting, which influence both locomotor activity levels per se and chemically induced changes in these activity levels. These data illustrate that failure to recognize, specify, and consid...

Behavioral toxicology of carbon disulfide and toluene.

Organic solvents are pervasive in the communal and industrial environments. Although many are potent central nervous system agents, clearly delineated behavioral effects have played only a minor role in the formation of exposure standards. A comprehensive behavioral pharmacology and toxicology of these compounds is one aim of US/USSR collaboration. The current report describes some actions of c...

Behavioral toxicology, risk assessment, and chlorinated hydrocarbons.

Behavioral end points are being used with greater frequency in neurotoxicology to detect and characterize the adverse effects of chemicals on the nervous system. Behavioral measures are particularly important for neurotoxicity risk assessment since many known neurotoxicants do not result in neuropathology. The chlorinated hydrocarbon class consists of a wide variety of chemicals including polyc...

Behavioral Toxicology: To Toxicants Alter Behavior?