Exposure to air pollution in childhood is associated with reduced brain connectivity

The results show that greater exposure to air pollution from birth to three years old is associated with lower connectivity between the amygdala and the cortical networks involved in attention, somatomotor function — which coordinates body movements — and auditory function. Additionally, higher exposure to PM10 particles in the year before the neuroimaging assessment was associated with lower functional connectivity between the salience and medial-parietal networks, which are responsible for detecting stimuli in the environment and for introspection and self-perception.