ABSTRACT
Animal models play an essential role in determining whether exposure to a putative
neurotoxicant impairs cognitive and/or emotional functioning. Such studies circumvent a
thorny problem that commonly plagues studies with humans; namely, that exposure to the
toxicant occurs within the context of sociodemographic factors that themselves place
children at risk for impaired cognitive and emotional development (e.g., poverty, poor
health care, low maternal education and IQ; maternal depression; low intellectual
stimulation in the home). The demonstration of cognitive deficits in animal models, under
conditions in which these confounded risk factors are absent, is often pivotal in convincing
regulatory agencies that exposure to a particular substance does indeed cause adverse
effects. Studies with animals can also elucidate the neural mechanisms that underlie altered
neurobehavioral functioning and provide model systems for the development and testing of
possible treatments (e.g., pharmacotherapy, chelating agents).
