Tissue culture and neurotoxicology

Application of tissue culture in neurotoxicology may serve two purposes. First, they may be used to unravel the mechanism of action of neurotoxic compounds and secondly, they may be used for the screening of neurotoxic agents. Studies belonging to the first group can be subdivided into those aiming at the replication of neurotoxic processes in vivo and into those concerned with non-specific effects of neurotoxicants on cultured cells. The potential usefulness of these types of studies for the development of screening methods is discussed. An investigation of acrylamide neurotoxicity in cultures of cerebral cells serves to illustrate such an approach.