Animal Models of Environmentally Induced Memory Impairment

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bushnell PJ ; Evans HL ; Pontecorvo MJ ; Taylor JD
• Description:
  Cognitive dysfunction has been reported as a consequence of occupational exposure to chemicals such as metals and solvents. It is difficult to identify the causative agent in these clinical cases because of ethical restrictions on performing experiments with humans and because of numerous confounding variables in occupationally exposed populations (e.g., alcohol and drug use, health status, and exposure to a wide variety of industrial chemicals). In spite of the obvious impact of industrial products upon the nervous system, toxicologists have only begun to measure and interpret cognitive function in animals. Pharmacologists, on the other hand, have relied heavily upon single-response, one-trial tests (e.g. passive avoidance), which are not effective in separating the non-specific effects of drugs and toxicants measured as rate and speed from specific effects upon cognition. More suitable are operant, multiple-choice measures of accuracy, a less ambiguous index of cognitive function than speed. These issues were reviewed more fully by Evans and Daniel. We therefore developed experimental models of cognitive dysfunction with the macaque monkey, which closely resembles the human in both cognitive function and in response to drugs and toxicants. Also, pigeons were used as an alternative model because they are economical and yet capable of complex cognitive behavior. A three-choice, variable-delay matching-to-sample (DMS) procedure provided an objective and challenging test of short-term memory. Both monkeys and pigeons were trained to perform the DMS for positive reinforcement before exposure to toxicants and drugs began. The retention interval (delay between the presentation of the sample stimulus and the choice stimuli) was manipulated to provide psychophysical evidence of specificity of any changes in matching performance. Animals were tested in a three-choice appetitive procedure, an improvement over two-choice procedures in that a wider range of baselines can be obtained and evidence of non-specific effects such as position bias is more easily documented. Performance tests of this type circumvent the cultural bias of many human tests and may thus provide an important thread of continuity between the clinic and the laboratory. We now summarize preliminary results to be published in detail elsewhere. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Animals Environmental Exposure Nervous System Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety Toxicology
• Keywords:
  Animal Studies Cognitive Function Environmental Exposure Models Occupational Exposure Toxic Effects
• ISSN:
  0077-8923
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; OSHA Region 2
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  444
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20060567
• Citation:
  Ann NY Acad Sci 1985 May; 444(1):513-514
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1985
• Performing Organization:
  New York State Department of Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19831101
• Source Full Name:
  Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
• End Date:
  19851231
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:38e2979417b42c165749245ec0e183707769812ce358a168f49a84ee62ab537253552ba06a9280968927dddbb830cf336d81a806651451d2f06231ab145ca89d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/224432/cdc_224432_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 117.28 KB ]