The future of toxicity testing—The NRC vision and the EPA's ToxCast program national center for computational toxicology

Behavioral methods for studying drug effects as well as behavioral processes have been widely used in behavioral pharmacology research. In the 1970s, some researchers turned away from traditional studies using pharmacological agents and towards evaluating the neurotoxicological impacts of environmental chemicals, using extensive technology and methodology developed for behavioral pharmacology. The establishment of behavioral toxicology as a separate discipline was instigated by several eminent scientists. The first meeting in 1982 of the then-named Neurobehavioral Toxicology Society was held in conjunction with the Behavioral Pharmacology Society (BPS). Since that auspicious start, the society grew and changed its name to the Behavioral Toxicology Society (BTS). BTS cosponsored the journal, Neurotoxicology and Teratology, and became incorporated and established as 501(c) non-profit organization. Over the years the leadership included top names in the field, and many of its members are world-renowned behavioral neurotoxicologists. The meetings were informal and intimate, and the society filled a niche that was left open by other more general and larger toxicology, neuroscience, or pharmacology meetings. However, shrinking budgets and travel funds, as well as retirements without an influx of young scientists, eventually led to the demise of the society. The folding of BTS does not represent the extinction of the discipline, but instead, is evidence that behavior is now an integral part of neurotoxicological assessments and such research is well-represented in other groups. This is an abstract of a proposed presentation and does not reflect US EPA policy.