Effects of hazardous environments on animal performance. Final report, Mar 88-Mar 91

Technical Report · Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 1992

OSTI ID:7277982

Murphy, M R

Using a variety of experimental methods and procedures, animal models are used to measure the effects on performance of combat threats and countermeasures for such threats. The ultimate usefulness of such measurements in animal models will depend on extrapolations from performance changes in animals to performance changes in humans performing tasks of military relevance. This report describes several tasks in use for performance assessments in animals, and the results of experiments using these tasks to estimate performance threats from chemical warfare agents and from chemical countermeasures to these agents, as well as the efficacy of such countermeasures in reducing deleterious effects of threat agents. The use of rodents to characterize changes in neural structure and function concomitant with near-lethal exposures to chemical threat agents is also illustrated. Efforts to make rodents more closely resemble primates in their sensitivity to anticholinesterases through the use of carboxylesterase inhibitors are reported. Development of a primate model for thermal stress effects in chemical warfare defense is also described. The application of primate performance assessment techniques to the medical question of hyperbaric oxygen treatment effects on carbon monoxide toxicity is also presented.

• Research Organization: Systems Research Labs., Inc., Dayton, OH (United States)
• OSTI ID: 7277982
• Report Number(s): AD-A-251904/9/XAB; CNN: F33615-87-C-0625
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
CARBON MONOXIDE
TOXICITY
CHEMICAL WARFARE AGENTS
ATROPINE
BIOLOGICAL MODELS
CHOLINESTERASE
ENZYME INHIBITORS
OXYGEN
PRIMATES
RODENTS
SENSITIVITY
ALKALOIDS
ANIMALS
AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM AGENTS
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBON OXIDES
CARBOXYLESTERASES
CHALCOGENIDES
DRUGS
ELEMENTS
ENZYMES
ESTERASES
HYDROLASES
MAMMALS
NONMETALS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PARASYMPATHOLYTICS
PROTEINS
VERTEBRATES
WEAPONS
450600* - Military Technology
Weaponry
& National Defense- Chemical & Biological- (1990)
560300 - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology