Institution:
US Environmental Protection Agency
About:
Our neurotoxicology laboratory focuses on neurophysiological techniques, coupled with biochemical and behavioral measures, to establish linkages with adverse outcomes using the Adverse Outcome Pathway paradigm. A current focus involves testing the predictive validity of in vitro neurotoxicology screening procedures. We have begun generating data using proteomic approaches to evaluate neurotoxicity produced by chemicals with different mechanisms of action, both in cell culture models and after in vivo exposures. A specific area is the evaluation of changes in synaptic proteins after developmental exposure to a chemical known to affect the GABAergic system. Others in the laboratory will be measuring behavioral changes, and we will use the proteomic data to guide neurophysiological evaluation. Two recent projects involve utilizing optogenetic manipulations to investigate mechanisms of neurophysiological and behavioral changes after acute or developmental exposures to neurotoxicants. While optogenetic manipulations have been used in the field of neurobiology, this will represent a novel approach in in vivo neurotoxicology. The optogenetic methods will also be used in zebrafish, to increase mechanistic understanding of changes observed in EPA’s developmental neurotoxicity screening efforts.
