ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the process by which neurological causation is established, that is, the link between the human absorption of a chemical compound and neuropsychological function. It is assumed that the rationale and uses of the chi-square test, i-test, regression equations, correlation coefficients, and the notions of association and causality are understood. Teaching data analysis shares a lot with teaching painting. In both cases a mentor places himself or herself as a role model in a creative process in which the tools—and sometimes the tricks—of an art are taught in order to accomplish specific objectives. Data-analytical methods in epidemiology and toxicology evolved from case observations to an increasing reliance on quantitative methods and statistics. The “position” of a variable means whether the variable is dependent, independent, or a confounder, as defined below. In experimental toxicology, the independent variable is the treatment variable, the quantity that is under the control of the experimenter.
