David Bellinger focuses on two types of early insults to the developing nervous system--those of chemical exposures, (e.g., lead, fluoride, mercury, and cocaine)--and those related to serious medical conditions (e.g., congenital heart lesions).

The specific aims of the chemical exposure studies are to:

• Develop new strategies for exposure assessment.
• Define the "behavioral signature", if any, associated with different exposure scenarios.
• Identify factors that that either enhance or mitigate the magnitude or presentation of toxicant-related effects.
• Evaluate exposure abatement interventions.

The goals of the studies on endogenous insults related to medical conditions are to characterize the associated behavioral risks, particularly those that are associated with invasive interventions, such as procedures to repair serious congenital heart disease.