Cory-Slechta D A, Crofton K M, Foran J A, Ross J F, Sheets L P, Weiss B, Mileson B
Department of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester Medical School, Rochester, New York, USA.
Environ Health Perspect. 2001 Mar;109 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):79-91. doi: 10.1289/ehp.01109s179.
Alterations in nervous system function after exposure to a developmental neurotoxicant may be identified and characterized using neurobehavioral methods. A number of methods can evaluate alterations in sensory, motor, and cognitive functions in laboratory animals exposed to toxicants during nervous system development. Fundamental issues underlying proper use and interpretation of these methods include a) consideration of the scientific goal in experimental design, b) selection of an appropriate animal model, c) expertise of the investigator, d) adequate statistical analysis, and e) proper data interpretation. Strengths and weaknesses of the assessment methods include sensitivity, selectivity, practicality, and variability. Research could improve current behavioral methods by providing a better understanding of the relationship between alterations in motor function and changes in the underlying structure of these systems. Research is also needed to develop simple and sensitive assays for use in screening assessments of sensory and cognitive function. Assessment methods are being developed to examine other nervous system functions, including social behavior, autonomic processes, and biologic rhythms. Social behaviors are modified by many classes of developmental neurotoxicants and hormonally active compounds that may act either through neuroendocrine mechanisms or by directly influencing brain morphology or neurochemistry. Autonomic and thermoregulatory functions have been the province of physiologists and neurobiologists rather than toxicologists, but this may change as developmental neurotoxicology progresses and toxicologists apply techniques developed by other disciplines to examine changes in function after toxicant exposure.
接触发育性神经毒物后神经系统功能的改变可以通过神经行为学方法来识别和表征。许多方法可用于评估在神经系统发育过程中接触毒物的实验动物的感觉、运动和认知功能的改变。正确使用和解释这些方法的基本问题包括：a）实验设计中对科学目标的考量；b）合适动物模型的选择；c）研究者的专业知识；d）充分的统计分析；e）正确的数据解读。评估方法的优点和缺点包括敏感性、选择性、实用性和变异性。通过更好地理解运动功能改变与这些系统潜在结构变化之间的关系，研究可以改进当前的行为学方法。还需要开展研究，以开发用于感觉和认知功能筛查评估的简单且灵敏的检测方法。正在开发评估方法以检查其他神经系统功能，包括社会行为、自主过程和生物节律。许多类别的发育性神经毒物和具有激素活性的化合物会改变社会行为，这些化合物可能通过神经内分泌机制起作用，或者直接影响脑形态或神经化学。自主和体温调节功能一直是生理学家和神经生物学家而非毒理学家的研究领域，但随着发育神经毒理学的发展以及毒理学家应用其他学科开发的技术来检查毒物暴露后功能的变化，这种情况可能会改变。
