ABSTRACT

Many toxic chemicals are released by industrial facilities and by agriculture practices; some of them end up in water and are known or suspected to be neurotoxicants. Pesticides are of particular concern because they are designed to be neurotoxic to insects and have toxic effects on non-target animals. Neurotoxicities may be neuropathologic or may alter neurochemical, electrophysiological or behavioral functions. The developing brain is more sensitive to chemical toxicants than the adult brain, and exposure during development has been implicated in neurological diseases and mental retardation (Anderson et al. 2000).