Sensory Organs

The effect of chemicals on the sensory perception in humans has received scant attention until now, but available data have shown that vision, hearing, smell, and taste can be affected by several chemicals, including pharmaceutical drugs, toxic metals, and various organic and inorganic compounds. The pathogenesis of the toxicity of chemicals to sensory perception can be related to an action on receptors, nerve fibers, and/or the brain. Even if evidence is incomplete, it is hypothesized that the decline of sensory perception with age can be, at least partly, related to chemical exposure.