Air pollution
Central nervous system

Data is accumulating that air pollution exposure also affects the central nervous system.

Air pollution increases the risk of dementia in people over 50 years old. Indoor air pollution exposure during childhood may negatively affect cognitive function and neurodevelopment. Prenatal exposure may also affect neurodevelopment. Studies show that air pollution is associated with a variety of developmental disabilities, oxidative stress, and neuro-inflammation and that it may contribute to Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.

Researchers found that early exposure to air pollution causes the same changes in the brain as autism and schizophrenia in mice. It also showed that air pollution also affected short-term memory, learning ability, and impulsivity. In this study, air pollution had a larger negative impact on male mice than on females. Lead researcher on the study, Deborah Cory-Slechta, said that:

When we looked closely at the ventricles, we could see that the white matter that normally surrounds them hadn't fully developed. It appears that inflammation had damaged those brain cells and prevented that region of the brain from developing, and the ventricles simply expanded to fill the space. Our findings add to the growing body of evidence that air pollution may play a role in autism, as well as in other neurodevelopmental disorders.

Exposure to fine particulate matter can increase levels of cytokines - neurotransmitters produced in response to infection and inflammation that are also associated with depression and suicide. Pollution has been associated with inflammation of the brain, which may disrupt mood regulation. Heightened PM levels are linked to more self-reported depressive symptoms, and increases in daily suicide rates.

In 2015, experimental studies reported the detection of significant episodic (situational) cognitive impairment from impurities in indoor air breathed by test subjects who were not informed about changes in the air quality. Significant deficits were observed in the performance scores achieved in increasing concentrations of either volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or carbon dioxide, while keeping other factors constant. The highest impurity levels reached are not uncommon in some classroom or office environments. Higher PM and CO concentrations were shown to be associated with slower response times and reduced accuracy in tests.
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