Neurotoxins are a special class of metabolic poisons that attack nerve cells. Disruption of the nervous system as a result of exposure to neurotoxins is usually quick and destructive. Neurotoxins are categorized according to the nature of their...

Poisons that have an action against neurons (see NEURON) are known as neurotoxins. Some are tools used in neuroscience to make a LESION in neural tissue while others (such as CONOTOXINS) occur naturally and are used by predators to capture prey. Many...

A poisonous substance in snake venom that acts as a nervous system depressant. Toxic substance that affects the brain and its neural pathways, causing psychological and physical...

A poisonous substance that is capable of adversely affecting the nervous system. See also:...

A neurotoxin is a toxin that acts specifically on nerve cells – neurons – usually by interacting with membrane proteins such as ion channels. Many of the venoms and other toxins that organisms use in defense against vertebrates are...

Researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, have documented for the first time in San Diego seawater the presence of a neurotoxin that has been known to poison marine mammals, birds and human consumers of shellfish. During...

Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) are proteases that cleave specific cellular proteins essential for neurotransmitter release. Seven BoNT serotypes (A-G) exist; 4 usually cause human botulism (A, B, E, and F). We developed a rapid, mass spectrometry--based method (Endopep-MS) to detect and differentiate active BoNTs...

Hundreds of dead or injured seabirds have washed up on the shores of Monterey Bay in recent weeks, and scientists believe a red tide of marine algae is to blame.About 600 birds have been found stranded on beaches in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties since...

More than 200 industrial chemicals are known to be hazardous to the human brain, yet they're not regulated, even to protect children, according to new research. Prenatal and early—childhood exposure to such chemicals—neurotoxins—is responsible for a silent pandemic of neurodevelopmental disorders, possibly including autism,...