There has been a recent upswell in public concern over the effects of substance abuse at all ages, from in-utero exposure through early adolescence to chronic use in adulthood. This concern, coupled with continuing evidence for occasional high levels of exposure to man-made and perhaps natural neurotoxicants in the environment, has created a growing need for valid, sensitive measures of neural function in experimental animals. At the same time, modern advances in computer technology have put inexpensive behavioral techniques of great complexity and power in the potential grasp of virtually any interested researcher. These techniques, if properly developed and applied, can be of great utility in assessing the often subtle and complex functional effects of exposure to suspected neurotoxicants or to legal and illegal psychoactive drugs. To derive full benefit from the opportunities presented by technological advances in the field of behavioral testing, it will be necessary to standardize test items, to educate potential users in such techniques, and to better validate both individual tests and test batteries. It will also be necessary to develop and disseminate data analysis techniques appropriate for the large, complex behavioral data sets which can now be machine-generated. The conference on Methods in Behavioral Toxicology and Teratology is being organized by a team of researchers from the National Center for Toxicological Research, an acknowledged leader in development of behavioral testing methodology. The conference will focus upon current state-of-the-art systems in automated behavioral testing. It will also address concerns about validation of test items, appropriate animal models, and risk assessment. This conference will also place emphasis upon use of non-rodent species, and primates in particular, in behavioral toxicology/teratology. In organizing a national meeting on this topic, and in seeking funding for travel expenses of selected young investigators, the organizers hope to improve the behavioral techniques utilized in research concerning the functional effects of exposure to substances of abuse and environmental toxins.
