Biochemistry and behaviour: systemic aspects of neurological disturbances

This article considers ways in which simple changes in plasma composition (especially in the concentration of Na+, Ca++, Mg++ and glucose) can initiate most of the symptoms usually associated with neurological disorders. The more complex deterioration of plasma composition inflicted by renal or hepatic failure is also discussed and related to behavioural abnormalities. Although most of the relevant clinical observations have been in man, the extent to which experimental animals demonstrate similar effects suggests that the importance of these conditions in veterinary medicine may be underestimated. Even if they are less frequent, they deserve attention because, in principal, they are easily diagnosed and, in contrast to other neural disturbances, readily reversible.