neurotoxic
adjective
neu·ro·tox·ic ˌnu̇r-ō-ˈtäk-sik 
ˌnyu̇r-
: toxic to the nerves or nervous tissue
neurotoxicity
ˌnu̇r-ō-ˌtäk-ˈsi-sə-tē
noun ˌnyu̇r-
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web One species, the Emerald jewel wasp, converts its cockroach prey into living zombies by injecting a neurotoxic cocktail into its brain. 
Adrian Woolfson, WSJ, 31 July 2022 In all three cases, inflammation disrupts immune cells in the brain called microglia, which ordinarily maintain healthy neural circuit function but when inflammation strikes, become neurotoxic. Elizabeth Cooney, STAT, 23 July 2022 Lead is a neurotoxic metal that can erode brain cells after entering the body, health experts say. Adrianna Rodriguez, USA TODAY, 7 Mar. 2022 Krakauer’s argument was built around a scientific paper that details the neurotoxic elements and effects of a particular amino acid in the wild potato plant McCandless had been eating. The Editors, Outside Online, 12 Feb. 2015 The eyelash viper is venomous—a bite releases hemotoxic venom that compromises the cardiovascular and central nervous systems until neurotoxic paralysis takes over, at which point the viper will swallow its prey whole. Daisy Hernandez, Popular Mechanics, 26 Jan. 2022 Research in animals and humans confirms that MDMA produces no neurotoxic effects at the doses administered in clinical trials. New York Times, 3 May 2021 Bright Cities program partners with local nonprofits and city governments to reduce a community’s exposures to neurotoxic chemicals by lowering the levels of these chemicals in the air, water, food, soil, and in everyday consumer products. BostonGlobe.com, 22 Apr. 2021 The researchers also looked at changing levels of the neurotoxic heavy metal mercury in the whales’ bodies. Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Apr. 2021 See More
Adrian Woolfson, WSJ, 31 July 2022 In all three cases, inflammation disrupts immune cells in the brain called microglia, which ordinarily maintain healthy neural circuit function but when inflammation strikes, become neurotoxic. Elizabeth Cooney, STAT, 23 July 2022 Lead is a neurotoxic metal that can erode brain cells after entering the body, health experts say. Adrianna Rodriguez, USA TODAY, 7 Mar. 2022 Krakauer’s argument was built around a scientific paper that details the neurotoxic elements and effects of a particular amino acid in the wild potato plant McCandless had been eating. The Editors, Outside Online, 12 Feb. 2015 The eyelash viper is venomous—a bite releases hemotoxic venom that compromises the cardiovascular and central nervous systems until neurotoxic paralysis takes over, at which point the viper will swallow its prey whole. Daisy Hernandez, Popular Mechanics, 26 Jan. 2022 Research in animals and humans confirms that MDMA produces no neurotoxic effects at the doses administered in clinical trials. New York Times, 3 May 2021 Bright Cities program partners with local nonprofits and city governments to reduce a community’s exposures to neurotoxic chemicals by lowering the levels of these chemicals in the air, water, food, soil, and in everyday consumer products. BostonGlobe.com, 22 Apr. 2021 The researchers also looked at changing levels of the neurotoxic heavy metal mercury in the whales’ bodies. Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Apr. 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
neuro- + toxic entry 1, probably after French névrotoxique
First Known Use
1902, in the meaning defined above
Medical Definition
neurotoxic
adjective
neu·ro·tox·ic ˌn(y)u̇r-ə-ˈtäk-sik
: toxic to the nerves or nervous tissue
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