Animal/Human Concordance

Abstract In the context of hazard identification and risk assessment, surrogate species are used to determine whether chemicals pose an undue risk to produce adverse neurodevelopmental effects in humans under conditions that are relevant to anticipated circumstances of exposure. In this context, it is important to understand the reliability of the model used to predict or understand human health effects and the suitability and limitations of the model for each stage of investigation. Toward this goal, it is useful to compare the effects of chemicals that are known to produce neurodevelopmental disorders in humans with those observed in animals and to evaluate conditions that have occurred in humans with those in animals, using the tools that are presently available. It is also important to continue evaluating and developing alternative models and approaches that may provide even greater clarity with respect to human relevance, while using fewer animals.