Traffic pollution can impair brain function, say B.C. researchers
Common levels of traffic pollution can hinder cognitive function within a matter of only hours, a new study by the University of Victoria and the University of British Columbia has found.
It also found that just two hours of exposure to diesel exhaust causes a decrease in the brain’s functional connectivity, which reflects the ability of different areas of the brain to interact and communicate with one another. For the experiment, 25 healthy adults were briefly exposed to diesel exhaust and filtered air at different times in a laboratory setting. The brain activity of participants was additionally measured before and after each exposure using functional magnetic resonance imaging .
“We know that altered functional connectivity in the DMN has been associated with reduced cognitive performance and symptoms of depression, so it’s concerning to see traffic pollution interrupting these same networks,” Jodie Gawryluk, 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 for a long time – we might not be able to recover so easily from that.
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