Behavioral and Psychological Responses to Chemical and Biological Warfare

1990/02/01 by Carol S. Fullerton, Robert J. Ursano
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Chemical Engineering · Engineering · Medicine · Psychology · #Biology #Chemical Safety and Risk Management #Chemical Warfare Agents #Chemical agents #Chemical warfare #Engineering #Medicine #Military personnel #Pesticide Exposure and Toxicity #Psychiatry #Psychology #Stressor

paper · doi:10.1093/milmed/155.2.54

openalex publication_date 1990/02/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23

Abstract

Understanding the behavioral and psychological responses in a chemical environment is critical to individual health and unit functioning. Reports of incidents of acute nerve agent and other organophosphate exposures and of repeated low-dose toxic exposures can provide information about psychiatric symptomatology, performance disruption, and recovery. This paper presents a review of the literature on the longer term consequences of acute and chronic exposure to nerve agents and other organophosphates. In addition, reports on psychological responses during chemical warfare training are reanalyzed to identify behavioral and psychological casualties attributed to the unique stressors of the CBW environment.

Related

• Repeated low-dose organophosphate DFP exposure leads to the development of depression and cognitive impairment in a rat model of Gulf War Illness
• Recent research on Gulf War illness and other health problems in veterans of the 1991 Gulf War: Effects of toxicant exposures during deployment
• The Chemistry of Organophosphorus Chemical Warfare Agents
• Treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder in military and veteran populations.
• Precursors of Nerve Chemical Warfare Agents with Industrial Relevance: Characteristics and Significance for Chemical Security