THE USE OF TOXINS TO ELUCIDATE NEURAL FUNCTION AND DISEASE

In some cases, toxins can be useful tools to produce models of human d isease. This is especially so with neurotoxins, which have been used t o simulate disease in both the central and peripheral nervous systems. However, it is important to be cautious in extrapolating the biochemi cal consequences of the toxins to the respective human disorder. In th is respect, 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine has proved to be of particular value and has provided many important clues in the s earch for the cause of Parkinson's disease; this review focuses on rec ent advances in our understanding of its mechanism of action.