Sensory system function

These sensory systems function similarly to the signal-transduction pathways for many hormones. These intercellular signaling pathways appear to have been appropriated and modified to process environmental information. 

Crofton, K.M., and Sheets, L.P. 1989. Evaluation of sensory system function using reflex modification of the startle response. J. Am. Coll. Toxicol. 8 199-211. 

The function of a sensory system is to select suitable modalities from the multitude presented by the environment, and translate them into corresponding modalities of sensory information that are then projected and processed into the various parts and finally submitted to the central processing-unit, the brain. A working hypothesis of the mechanism by which the taste system senses chemical compounds is that macromolecules that are... 

Although histamine is not stored in neurons outside of the central nervous system, mast-cell-derived histamine can modify peripheral sensory nerve function. Both acute and chronic pain states can result from inflammation or peripheral nerve cell injury, and there is substantial evidence that mast cell histamine participates in these disorders. 

Nervous system disorders are diagnosed by examining the patient s mental status, cranial nerve function, motor system reflexes, and sensory systems. An electroencephalogram (EEG) tests higher brain and nervous system functions. 

The Neurophysiology Sensory Evoked Potentials test guideline (OPPTS 870.6855) is designed to detect and characterize changes in the sensory aspects of nervous system function that result from exposure to chemical substances. The techniques involve neurophysiological measurements from adult animals and are sensitive to changes in the function of auditory, somatosensory (body sensation), and visual sensory systems. 

Chemically, arsenic is complex in that it can exist in a variety of forms including trivalent and pentavalent or as arsenic trioxide (computer chip manufacture) and arsenic acid. Arsenic is excreted in skin cells, sweat, hair, and fingernails, which can be seen as white transverse bands. Acute exposure to arsenic results in gastrointestinal pain, sensory loss, cardiovascular failure, and death. Chronic exposure or survival of acute exposure can cause loss of peripheral sensory function and loss of central nervous system function. Chronic arsenic exposure can also cause cancer of the lung and skin (see the chapter on arsenic). 

S E ROTO NIN An important neurotransmitter in the brain that regulates mood, appetite, sensory perception, and other central nervous system functions. 

Selection of a comprehensive testing battery to record the rate of AChE inhibition is a crucial point. In addition to the estimation of AChE activity, other functions (e.g., sensory systems, reflexes, neuromotor development, locomotion, gait, reactivity to medication) require close monitoring to achieve chemical safety to OPs. In the case of children and workers exposed to very low doses of OPs, other tests should indirectly include parameters like learning, memory loss, social behavior, and reproductive behavior. To integrate behavioral data into the context... 

The concentration of such neuropil protein is often modest compared with that found in the striatum and hippocampal formation (see below), but is marked in the somatosensory and visceral sensory system in the lower medulla, especially in the gracile and solitary nuclei (e.g., Figure 2.2-13e). It should also be noted that a cell layer of the spinal cord influencing relay of pain signals, namely layer II, displays a very high level of dysbindin-1 in its neurons and neuropil. The functional significance of that finding is discussed in Section 2.2.6.5.8. 

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