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Toxic Reactions: Overview

Toxic Reactions: Overview

When toxic substances penetrate the human body, they disseminate to various tissues, undergoing metabolic changes. This process yields reactive metabolites that may covalently bind with specific target molecules, resulting in toxicity.
Toxicity falls into two primary categories: local and systemic.
Local toxicity appears at the exposure site, such as protein denaturation caused by caustic substances.
In contrast, systemic toxicity requires the toxic agent's absorption and distribution,...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 20, 2026

Investigations on Alterations of Hippocampal Circuit Function Following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Investigations on Alterations of Hippocampal Circuit Function Following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Published on: November 19, 2012

Function testing for chemical brain damage: a review.

¹Environmental Sciences Laboratory, University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles 90033, USA.

Archives of Environmental Health

|May 8, 2001

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Environmental chemical exposures can be evaluated using neurobehavioral tests. Adjusting for factors like age and sex improves sensitivity, identifying toxic chemicals like hydrogen sulfide and arsenic.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Environmental Health
Toxicology

Background:

Evaluating environmental chemical impacts on the human brain is crucial.
Neurobehavioral testing offers a logical initial approach for assessing community exposures.

Purpose of the Study:

To outline a sensitive method for evaluating neurobehavioral effects of environmental chemicals.
To identify the relative toxicity of various chemicals based on neurobehavioral impact.

Main Methods:

Utilized a two-part approach: regression modeling to adjust for influential factors (age, sex, education) and calculation of predicted test values.
Administered a battery of neurobehavioral tests, including visual fields, color discrimination, reaction time, balance, and digit symbol tests.
Assessed toxicity of specific chemicals including hydrogen sulfide, polychlorinated biphenyls, arsenic, chlorine, chlorpyrifos, formaldehyde, nickel carbonyl, ammonia, hydrochloric acid, and methyl tert-butyl ether.

Main Results:

The adjusted neurobehavioral testing approach significantly improved sensitivity.
Visual fields, color discrimination, reaction time, balance, and digit symbol tests were identified as the most sensitive indicators.
Hydrogen sulfide, polychlorinated biphenyls, and arsenic were found to be the most toxic chemicals evaluated, with methyl tert-butyl ether being the least toxic.

Conclusions:

Adjusted neurobehavioral testing is a sensitive method for evaluating the effects of environmental chemical exposures on the human brain.
This methodology allows for accurate comparisons by controlling for individual differences.
The study provides a ranking of chemical toxicity based on observed neurobehavioral effects.