Category talk:Neurotoxins

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A lot of the stuff I've been adding to the neurotoxins category is pretty disputable depending on what your definition is. My goal was to be as inclusive as possible, so basically anything that modulated ion channels, postsynaptic receptors, synaptic vessicles, etc. I would also be inclined to include most teratogens.

I think the neuroscientist's definition of a neurotoxin is probably different from that of a clinician. For a neuroscientist there's a lot of overlap between the concept of any neuromodulatory experimental tool and the concept of a neurotoxin. To me, anything nonphysiological (i.e. exogenous) that acts on channels, receptors, or synaptic vessicles, whether in vitro, in vivo, or in development, pretty much counts. My thinking was also that if the definition of the category is different for different people, better to go for the most inclusive definition.

I've already been opposed on a few of my additions. I'd appreciate more people's thoughts on what they think is appropriate for the category. I wouldn't be opposed to directing my efforts to a different category like "Neuromodulators", but in that case I want to nail down what's okay for this category first. --Chinasaur 01:46, 11 Aug 2004 (UTC)

I would dispute some of the items in this catagory, where is the evidence that opioid antagonists are neurotoxic for instance? From a quick PubMed search it seems that they can be neuroprotective in some situations and worsen neurodegeneration in others, but i find no evidence that they cause any neurotoxicity by themselves without the influence of other causative factors. Classing them as neurotoxins is misleading and will only concern patients who take these drugs (for the treatment of alcoholism or gambling addiction for instance) Meodipt 02:37, 18 February 2007 (UTC)