Common levels of traffic pollution can impair cognitive function in just hours, a new study from the University of Victoria and the University of British Columbia has found.
The study, published earlier this month in the journal Environmental Health, provides the first evidence in humans—from a controlled experiment—of altered brain network connectivity directly linked to pollution.
He also found that just two hours of exposure to diesel fumes caused a decrease in the brain’s functional connectivity, which reflects the ability of different areas of the brain to interact and communicate with each other.
“For many decades, scientists thought that the brain could be protected from the harmful effects of air pollution,” Dr. Chris Carlsten, professor and head of respiratory medicine and the Canadian Research Unit on Occupational and Environmental Lung Diseases, said in a news release. UBC. release Tuesday (January 24).
For the experiment, 25 healthy adults were briefly exposed to diesel fumes and filtered air at different times in a laboratory setting. The participants’ brain activity was further measured before and after each exposure using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
The researchers analyzed changes in the brain’s default network (DMN), a set of interconnected brain regions that play an important role in memory and internal thought. fMRI revealed that participants had reduced functional connectivity in widespread regions of the DMN after exposure to diesel fumes, compared to filtered air.
“We know that altered functional connectivity in the DMN is associated with reduced cognitive performance and symptoms of depression, so it’s alarming to see that traffic pollution disrupts these same networks,” Jody Gavryluk, assistant professor of psychology at UVic, told Black Press Media. “But more studies are needed to look at the long-term effects, like what happens after we have repeated exposures over a long period of time – we may not be able to recover from that as easily.”
“Air pollution is now recognized as the greatest environmental threat to human health, and we are increasingly seeing the impact on all major organ systems,” Carlsten said. “I expect we will see similar effects on the brain from exposure to other air pollutants, such as wildfire smoke.” With the increasing incidence of neurocognitive disorders, this is an important consideration for public health officials and policy makers.
The study was conducted at UBC’s Air Pollution Exposure Laboratory at Vancouver General Hospital, which is equipped with a state-of-the-art exposure booth capable of mimicking what it’s like to breathe in a range of different air pollutants.
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Air Pollution HealthScienceUBCUUniversity of Victoria
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