Exposure to toxic chemicalsâ€"in the workplace and at homeâ€"is increasing every day. Human behavior can be affected by such exposure and can give important clues that a person or population is in danger. If we can understand the mechanisms of these changes, we can develop better ways of testing for toxic chemical exposure and, most important, better prevention programs. This volume explores the emerging field of neurobehavioral toxicology and the potential of behavior studies as a noninvasive and economical means for risk assessment and monitoring. Pioneers in this field explore its promise for detecting environmental toxins, protecting us from exposure, and treating those who are exposed.

Exposure to toxic chemicalsâ€"in the workplace and at homeâ€"is increasing every day. Human behavior can be affected by such exposure and can give important clues that a person or population is in danger. If we can understand the mechanisms of these changes, we can develop better ways of testing for toxic chemical exposure and, most important, better prevention programs. This volume explores the emerging field of neurobehavioral toxicology and the potential of behavior studies as a noninvasive and economical means for risk assessment and monitoring. Pioneers in this field explore its promise for detecting environmental toxins, protecting us from exposure, and treating those who are exposed.

Behavioral toxicology is a young discipline in the United States; so young, in fact, that this is one of its first books. Behavioral questions are bound to play a major role in future scientific work and governmental decisions involving the health effects of environmental contaminants and other chemicals. This role springs from two key problems that face scientists and public agencies required to set acceptable exposure standards or to determine criteria for the toxicity of therapeutic chemicals: How do you evaluate effects that may show up only as subtle functional disturbances? And how do you de tect toxic effects early enough so that they may still be reversible, before they produce major damage? The contributions in this book come from a collection of scientists whose interests span a wide variety of problem areas. The focus is largely on me thodological issues because they represent the most immediate concern of the discipline. We expect that this collection of papers will represent a useful source book for behavioral toxicology for some time. For the past few years, the University of Rochester's Department of Radiation Biology and Biophysics has sponsored a series of international conferences on chemical toxicity, partly as a response to concern over the con sequences to health of the rich chemical soup in which we live. This book is based upon presentations made to the fifth of the series. Held in June, 1972, it was the first formal meeting devoted to behavioral toxicology in this country.

In establishing how certain chemicals can cause behavioural disorders, the process of neurotoxicity risk assessment poses significant challenges to every discipline within neuroscience. In this volume, leaders from industrial, academic, and government settings share insights on behavioural measurement in neurotoxicity risk assessment, and address the critical scientific issues arising from the expanding role of neurobehavioral toxicology in public policy development.; The authors set out to provide a comprehensive and authoritative review of current methods in the analysis and interpretation of neurobehavioural toxicology. Coverage begins with a discussion of criteria for determining neurotoxic potential. The next section examines neurobehavioural evaluations in developmental neurotoxicity. Subsequent sections focus on activity and observational data and applications of schedule-controlled operant behaviour in toxicity testing. The contributors address controversies surrounding the suitability and interpretation of procedures designed for neurotoxicological assessments. Some case studies are also included.