First-in-the-world study suggests that even brief exposure to air pollution has rapid impacts on the brain image

Traffic pollution impairs brain function

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2023-01-25 20:30:10

First-in-the-world study suggests that even brief exposure to air pollution has rapid impacts on the brain

image: fMRI shows decreased functional connectivity in the brain following exposure to traffic pollution. view more

A new study by researchers at the University of British Columbia and the University of Victoria has shown that common levels of traffic pollution can impair human brain function in only a matter of hours.

The peer-reviewed findings, published in the journal Environmental Health, show that just two hours of exposure to diesel exhaust causes a decrease in the brain’s functional connectivity – a measure of how The study provides the first evidence in humans, from a controlled experiment, of altered brain network connectivity induced by air pollution.

“For many decades, scientists thought the brain may be protected from the harmful effects of air pollution,” said senior study author Dr. Chris Carlsten, professor and head of respiratory medicine and the Canada Research Chair in occupational and environmental lung disease at UBC. “This study, which is the first of its kind in the world, provides fresh evidence supporting a connection between air pollution and cognition.”