| Neurobehavioral Epidemiology: Application in Risk Assessment Environ Health Perspect 1Institute of Community Health, Odense University, Odense, Denmark; 2Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts; 3Faroese Hospital System, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands Abstract
Neurobehavioral epidemiology may contribute information to risk assessment in relation to a) characterization of neurotoxicity and its time course ; b) the dose-effect relationship ; c) the dose-response relationship ; and d) predisposing factors. The quality of this information relies on the validity of the exposure data, the validity and sensitivity of neurobehavioral function tests, and the degree to which sources of bias are controlled. With epidemiologic studies of methylmercury-associated neurotoxicity as an example, the field of research involves numerous uncertainties that should be taken into account in the risk assessment process. -- Environ Health Perspect 104(Suppl 2) :397-400 (1996) Key words: alcohol intake, birth weight, children, confounding, epidemiology, marine food, lead, mercury, neurobehavioral development, neuropsychology, pregnancy, solvents
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