The article reports on a longitudinal study linking common air pollutants to brain development in adolescence. It finds that exposure to fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide is associated with accelerated thinning of the cortex, particularly in the frontal and temporal lobes, suggesting environmental exposure can influence neurological maturation. Ozone showed weaker associations.

These findings illustrate how environmental factors can shape neural development related to executive function and emotion regulation. The study uses a large representative sample and longitudinal MRI data to track changes over four years, highlighting developmental sensitivity to pollution exposure. This topic aligns with psychology's interest in the interplay between environment, brain development, and behavior.

Article Title: Common air pollutants associated with structural changes in the teenage brain

Link to PsyPost Article: ift dot tt/soHD5fY

Copy and paste broken link above into your browser and replace "dot" with "." for link to work. We have to do it this way to avoid displaying copyrighted images.

#adolescentbrain #airpollution #neurodevelopment #corticalthinning #psychologyresearch