ABSTRACT
This chapter describes both human epidemiological and experimental animal studies on the neurobehavioral toxicology of selected metals. Instead of covering the full literature in this field, which would be an impossible task, an effort will be made to use a selected number of typical examples to illustrate basic strategies, findings, and problems encountered in studying the neurobehavioral toxicity of lead, mercury, manganese, and aluminum, as well as the neurochemical and neuropathological background of such toxicity. Lead and mercury were selected because of the wealth of information available on behavioral effects in the developing and the adult nervous system, and manganese was chosen because behavioral alterations associated with exposure resemble those observed in Parkinson's disease. Aluminum is mentioned, because it is an abundant metal with documented neurotoxicity under special conditions.
