Nine participants outlined findings in the area of neurobehavioral effects of dioxin-like compounds and presented plans for new studies. Neurobehavioral effects are among the most sensitive and well studied toxicity end points for this class of compounds. A focus of the workshop was presentation of designs for major new studies in human populations outside the United States that are intended to...

Neurotoxic effects of a chemical or combination of chemicals can be observed at various levels of organization of the nervous system, including anatomical, physiological, macromolecular or behavioural. Neurobehavioral effects include adverse changes in somatic/autonomic, sensory, motor and/or cognitive function which can be reversible or irreversible. Observational and locomotor tests to assess...

Numerous neurobehavioral models for autism have been proposed in the decades since a neurologic origin gained acceptance. Research related to these models has resulted in substantial progress in the characterization of the neurocognitive basis of autism. The culmination of considerable research has resulted in support for a neurobehavioral model of autism as a disorder of complex information pr...

Potocki-Lupski syndrome (PTLS; MIM #610883), characterized by neurobehavioral abnormalities, intellectual disability and congenital anomalies, is caused by a 3.7-Mb duplication in 17p11.2. Neurobehavioral studies determined that ∼70-90% of PTLS subjects tested positive for autism or autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We previously chromosomally engineered a mouse model for PTLS (Dp(11)17/+) with a...

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) may be the disorder that breaks down the remaining barriers between neurology and psychiatry. In many respects, TBI represents the quintessential neuropsychiatric paradigm: It is diffi cult to appreciate what an individual with TBI and their family experience without understanding the brain regions typically effected by biomechanical trauma. It is equally critical t...

Mounting evidence suggests that environmental factors—in particular, those that we are exposed to during perinatal life—can dramatically shape the organism’s risk for later diseases, including neurobehavioral disorders. However, depending on the environmental insult, one sex may demonstrate greater vulnerability than the other sex. Herein, we focus on two well-defined extrinsic environmental fa...

A prospective methodology was used to assess the neurobehavioral effects of fetal and postnatal lead exposure during the first 2 years of life. Lead was measured in whole blood prenatally in mothers and at quarterly intervals in the infant. Prenatal blood lead levels were low (mean = 8.0 micrograms/dL). However, approximately 25% of the study infants had at least one serial blood lead level of ...

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a highly prevalent condition that is associated with significant neurobehavioral impairments. Cognitive abnormalities identified in individuals with OSA include impaired verbal memory, planning, reasoning, vigilance, and mood. Therapy for OSA improves some but not all neurobehavioral outcomes, supporting a direct role for OSA in brain dysfunction and raising the...

Animal models are commonly used in brain ageing research. Amongst these, models where rodents are exposed to d-galactose are held to recapitulate a number of features of ageing including neurobehavioral and neurochemical changes. However, results from animal studies are often inconsistent. To better understand the characteristics of the model and effects of d-galactose on neurobehavioral and ne...

INTRODUCTION Prenatal tobacco exposure interferes with neonatal outcomes. OBJECTIVE To determine the neonatal neurobehavioral effects of in utero tobacco exposure. METHODS This prospective cross-sectional study included healthy, term, with birth weight appropriate for gestacional age neonates without exposure to alcohol, drugs, or infections, born to adolescent mothers without psychiatric d...