Occupational neurotoxicology: some neuropsychological issues and challenges

Occupational neurotoxicology offers the opportunity for demonstration of neuropsychological capacity to detect otherwise non-demonstrable CNS compromise, and thereby the enhancement of human well-being. Simultaneously, neuropsychological applications in this field highlight some of the disciplines persisting problems, such as uncertainties over the differential sensitivities of tests, lack of a common functional taxonomy, limited employment of component-analysis procedures, insufficiencies of control over extraneous variance (including malingering and social expectancy effects), and knowledge limits regarding the everyday significance of findings. These problems are especially troublesome where effects are subtle, diffuse, or of insidious onset, and where physically demonstrable lesioning is uncommon. With neuroimaging advances, conditions so characterized may become increasingly the focus of neuropsychological efforts. The likelihood of increasing involvement with legal issues such as compensation makes awareness of these difficulties, and concerted efforts to resolve them, crucial.