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Environment, Behavior and Pollution: Quantifying Risk
Citation:
MACPHAIL, R. C. Environment, Behavior and Pollution: Quantifying Risk. Presented at Society for the Quantitative Analysis of Behavior meeting, San Antonio, TX, May 27 - 29, 2010.
Impact/Purpose:
This seminar will describe past and current studies on behavior in the field ofenvironmental toxicology, an area of inquiry that has a remarkably longer history than generally recognized.
Description:
This seminar will describe past and current studies on behavior in the field ofenvironmental toxicology, an area of inquiry that has a remarkably longer history than generally recognized. Toxicology bears much in common with pharmacology in that both fields investigate the effects of chemicals on living organisms, organs or tissues. Whereas pharmacology most often focuses on therapeutic or abused agents, environmental toxicology deals with a broader array of chemicals including atmospheric pollutants, water contaminants, pesticides, metals and a range ofnaturally occurring toxins. Numerous poisoning episodes have highlighted the diverse behavioral impacts of exposure to toxic chemicals. Given the limitations of epidemiological research, laboratory studies are needed for linking exposure (i.e., dose) and effect unequivocally. A much more challenging issue is using these data to then estimate the risk ofan adverse (toxic) effect. This requires a focus on the variability in response to chemical exposure. Examples will be provided ofboth traditional approaches for estimating risk, and some newer approaches that specifically incorporate variability in response. The implications for understanding the effects of environmental pollutants on the health of humans (and other animals) will be explored.