MADRID (Dispatches) -- A study finds that exposure to fine particulate matter in the first years of life is associated with poorer performance in working memory and executive attention.
A growing body of research led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) suggests that exposure to air pollution in the earliest stages of life is associated with negative effects on cognitive abilities.
The study included 2,221 children between 7 and 10 years of age attending schools in the city of Barcelona. The children's cognitive abilities were assessed using various computerized tests. Exposure to air pollution at home during pregnancy and throughout childhood was estimated with a mathematical model using real measurements.
The study found that greater PM2.5 exposure from pregnancy until age 7 years was associated with lower working memory scores on tests administered between the ages of 7 and 10 years. The results suggest that exposure to fine particulate matter throughout the study period had a cumulative effect, although the associations were stronger when the most recent years of exposure were taken into account. Working memory is a cognitive system responsible for temporarily holding information for subsequent manipulation. It plays a fundamental role in learning, reasoning, problem-solving and language comprehension.
The study also found that higher exposure to particulate matter was associated with a reduction in executive attention in both boys and girls. Executive attention is one of the three networks that make up a person's attention capacity.
It is involved in high-level forms of attention, such as the detection and resolution of conflicts between options and responses, error detection, response inhibition, and the regulation of thoughts and feelings.