The in vitro hippocampal slice preparation as a screen for neurotoxicity

One of the current goals of neurotoxicology research is to develop methods of assessing the neurotoxicity of chemical agents in the most sensitive, rapid and economical ways possible. Although no single method is likely to fulfil the role of a general screen for toxicity of all organ systems, in vitro brain-slice methods may hold the key to increased sensitivity in screening within the more restricted domain of central nervous system toxicity. The hippocampal brain-slice preparation is particularly well suited for screening purposes because the neurophysiology of the hippocampal slice is relatively well understood and generally matches what is known about the intact hippocampus. Potential practical advantages of a hippocampal slice screen include the fact that multiple tests of a variety of neuronal properties can be carried out using a single slice, many comparable slice 'samples' may be obtained from each animal donor, and testing should be easily automated. In addition, the hippocampal slice assay may have important practical and conceptual advantages over other assay methods because of the putative importance of the hippocampus to a variety of behaviours. Thus the in vitro hippocampal slice preparation as a screen for neurotoxicity offers the advantages of in vitro methods while allowing guarded, but relatively direct extrapolation to dysfunction of learning, memory and other behavioural processes.