title: Attention as a target of intoxication: insights and methods from studies of drug abuse.
abstract: A symposium was convened to discuss recent developments in the assessment of attention and the effects of drugs and toxic chemicals on attention at the 17th annual meeting of the Behavioral Toxicology Society on May 1, 1999, in Research Triangle Park, NC. Speakers addressed issues including the methodology of assessing cognitive function, the neurobiology of specific aspects of attention, the dual roles of attention as a target of intoxication and as a mediating variable in the development of addiction to psychoactive drugs, the changes in attention that accompany neuropsychological disorders of schizophrenia, senile dementia of the Alzheimer type and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and potential therapies for these disorders. This article provides an overview of the objectives of the symposium, followed by summaries of each of the talks given.
authors.affiliation: Neurotoxicology Division, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, US Environmental Protection Agency, 27711, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA. bushnell.philip@epa.gov
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Bushnell
authors.forename: E D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Levin
authors.forename: R T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Marrocco
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Sarter
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Strupp
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Warburton
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001288:Attention / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D003042:Cocaine / Q000009:adverse effects; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology; D009538:Nicotine / Q000009:adverse effects; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D009538:Nicotine; D003042:Cocaine