Breathing air pollution could affect the way your brain is wired. Scientists from the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the University of Victoria have discovered that inhaling car exhaust can change a brain’s connectivity within two hours.
the Results are based on a randomized, double-blind study of 25 healthy adults exposed to automotive pollution in a laboratory setting. In another phase, the participants were also exposed to clean filtered air.
Brain scans were taken before and after each scenario. After participants were exposed to air pollution, their brains showed reduced connectivity on the default mode network (DMN), a series of interconnected brain regions that are most active when we are engaged in internal thoughts, such as B. Introspection and memory.
These results have not been previously observed in humans, and while the current study did not test the impact this might have on brain performance, other research has.
Previous studies have linked altered brain connectivity, for example decreased working memory and work performance.
“It’s worrying to see traffic pollution disrupting the same networks,” says Neuropsychologist Jodie Gawryluk from the University of Victoria.
“Although more research is needed to fully understand the functional implications of these changes, it is possible that they affect people’s thinking or ability to work.”
The good news is that the changes seen in the study were transient and returned to normal once clean air was circulated through the lungs.
Still, the results point to a possible way in which chronic air pollution can have deleterious effects on the brain.
with up to 99 percent around the world breathing unsafe levels of air pollution, the public health consequences could be profound.
In China, recent studies have linked air pollution poorer test results in language and mathematicswhich, on average, takes away about a year of education.
“For decades, scientists thought the brain could be protected from the harmful effects of air pollution,” explained Respiratory Medicine Physician Chris Carlsten from UBC.
“This study, the first of its kind in the world, provides new evidence linking air pollution and cognition.”
In 2020, markers refer to Alzheimer illness were observed in the brains of young adults, children and even infants living in Mexico City – an urban center exposed to extreme air pollution. (Recent data shows it Air quality greatly improved during COVID-19 Blocking times during which vehicle movements and thus exhaust emissions were reduced.)
other research in the same city also revealed a possible trigger for this damage: metal nanoparticles from air pollution in the brains of many local people.
In 2022, scientists Confirmed that these particles, once inhaled, sometimes can bypass the protective barrier of the brainonce believed to keep toxic material away.
The current study only relied on fumes from car exhaust, but there may be other forms of air pollution that act even faster and with worse effects.
Before the ban on leaded gas in the United States, for example, researchers predict The toxic fumes were inhaled by 170 million Americans or more, leading to a cumulative IQ score loss of 824 million points (nearly 3 points per person).
Gas may not contain lead today, but that doesn’t mean it’s safe for your lungs or brain.
“People might want to think twice the next time they’re stuck in traffic with their windows down.” warns Carlsten.
“It’s important to make sure your car’s air filter is in good condition, and if you’re going to walk or bike on a busy street, consider taking a less-travelled route.”
However, for much of the world, polluted air is inevitable. We need to know what that does to our brain in the long run.
The study was published in environmental health.
