Dr. Richard Seegal, an associate professor at the Albany School of Public Health, has taken the lead nationwide in the study of ortho-substituted PCBs (non-dioxin like). His research on rats has produced evidence these PCBs interfere with the production of dopamine, a brain neurotransmitter. Studies by Dr. Jahan-Parwar on the mollusc, Aplysia confirmed these findings and demonstrated an interspecies tendency for the ortho-substituted PCBs to bioconcentrate in the nervous system and to be linked to decreases in dopamine. Based on this research, it is evident that PCBs cause a retardation in reflexes in a variety of invertebrates and lower vertebrates. This reflex retardation can lead to increased predation that can contribute to bioaccumulation via selective predation of contaminated animals.
Also, a project directed by Dr. Jay Silkworth demonstrated that poly aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons (HAHs) lead to the suppression of the immune system and induction of liver enzymes in laboratory rats.
