About this Research Topic
Neurotoxins are abundant in our environment, both as chemical hazards, manufactured drugs or naturally occurring substances. Thus, neurotoxicological studies play a very important role in risk assessment and everyday health care for people constantly at danger of exposure to compounds affecting their nervous system.
Personalized approach is one of the most emerging concepts in Neuroscience, which takes into consideration individual differences, and these come predominantly from genetic predispositions. Growing number of evidences suggest that genetic factors contribute to neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease or schizophrenia. And there is little doubt that this approach can also benefit the field of Neurotoxicology, where heterogeneity in response to neurotoxicants occurs frequently. Many factors may contribute to differential susceptibility, but it is likely that genetic background plays a prominent role in susceptibility of individuals or populations to neurotoxic agents.
Sex is an important carrier of genetic differences inside populations, and one of the easiest to determine. Nevertheless, sex influences on brain function in norm and disease are frequently overlooked in neuroscience studies. Even though the National Institutes of Health mandates now the inclusion of sex as a biological variable in preclinical research, some studies still do not report the sex of animals used, or use only one sex. In consequence, sex differences remain unexamined and uncontrolled, which results in significant gaps of knowledge. Discovering the genetic and sex-biasing factors of susceptibility to neurotoxins not only helps identify those at higher risk, but also expands our understanding of the mechanisms by which toxicants impair neurological function in the larger population.
This Research Topic aims to explore the current knowledgebase and thus increase the information exchange and awareness of the genetic- and sex-dependent susceptibility in neurotoxicological studies. We welcome submissions of article types including Original Research, Methods, Hypothesis & Theory, Opinions, Reviews and Perspectives.
Personalized approach is one of the most emerging concepts in Neuroscience, which takes into consideration individual differences, and these come predominantly from genetic predispositions. Growing number of evidences suggest that genetic factors contribute to neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease or schizophrenia. And there is little doubt that this approach can also benefit the field of Neurotoxicology, where heterogeneity in response to neurotoxicants occurs frequently. Many factors may contribute to differential susceptibility, but it is likely that genetic background plays a prominent role in susceptibility of individuals or populations to neurotoxic agents.
Sex is an important carrier of genetic differences inside populations, and one of the easiest to determine. Nevertheless, sex influences on brain function in norm and disease are frequently overlooked in neuroscience studies. Even though the National Institutes of Health mandates now the inclusion of sex as a biological variable in preclinical research, some studies still do not report the sex of animals used, or use only one sex. In consequence, sex differences remain unexamined and uncontrolled, which results in significant gaps of knowledge. Discovering the genetic and sex-biasing factors of susceptibility to neurotoxins not only helps identify those at higher risk, but also expands our understanding of the mechanisms by which toxicants impair neurological function in the larger population.
This Research Topic aims to explore the current knowledgebase and thus increase the information exchange and awareness of the genetic- and sex-dependent susceptibility in neurotoxicological studies. We welcome submissions of article types including Original Research, Methods, Hypothesis & Theory, Opinions, Reviews and Perspectives.
Keywords: neurotoxicity, sex, gene, personalized neurotoxicology, toxicogenomics
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
