Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Reduced cognitive abilities in lead-exposed men.

Alfred Barth1, Andreas W Schaffer, Wolf Osterode

  • 1Division of Occupational Medicine, University of Vienna, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, 1090 Vienna, Austria. alfred.barth@akh-wien.ac.at

International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health
|June 19, 2002
PubMed
Summary

Even low-to-moderate long-term lead exposure can impair adult cognitive functions, including executive functions and visuospatial abilities. Current blood lead levels, not cumulative exposure, correlated with these neurobehavioral deficits.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

DebrisWatch II: Digging Deeper for Geosynchronous Debris.

The journal of the astronautical sciences·2026
Same author

Palladium-catalyzed asymmetric carbofluorination of <i>gem</i>-difluorostyrenes with cesium fluoride and allylic acetates.

Chemical communications (Cambridge, England)·2026
Same author

Motivation biases behavior but not perception.

Communications psychology·2026
Same author

Strong long-term variability in active galactic nuclei affects virial black hole mass measurements.

Nature communications·2026
Same author

The role of feedback for sensorimotor decisions under risk.

Journal of vision·2026
Same author

Repurposing the Sanger Reagent for Optical Sensing of the Concentration and Enantiomeric Ratio of Chiral Amines, Amino Alcohols, and Amino Acids.

Chirality·2025

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Environmental Health
  • Cognitive Psychology

Background:

  • The neurobehavioral effects of chronic low-to-moderate lead exposure below current regulatory thresholds remain controversial.
  • Assessing the impact on adult cognitive functions is crucial for public health and occupational safety.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate executive functions, attention, and visuospatial/visuomotor functioning in adults with chronic low-to-moderate lead exposure.
  • To determine if lead exposure below current threshold values impacts neurobehavioral performance.

Main Methods:

  • Compared 47 lead-exposed subjects (mean blood lead 30.8 microg/100 ml) with 53 age-matched controls (mean blood lead 4.32 microg/100 ml).
  • Subjects were matched for socioeconomic background and verbal intelligence.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Utilized neuropsychological tests including the Wisconsin card sorting test, block design, visual recognition, reaction time, and digit symbol substitution.

    • Main Results:

    • Significant deficits were observed in Wisconsin card sorting, block design, and visual recognition tests among lead-exposed subjects.
    • No differences were found in simple reaction time, choice reaction, or digit symbol substitution tests.
    • Current blood lead levels showed significant correlations with cognitive deficits, whereas cumulative exposure did not.

    Conclusions:

    • Blood lead levels below 70 microg/100 ml can reduce neurobehavioral abilities, particularly visuospatial skills and executive functions.
    • Prefrontal cortex functions are particularly affected by lead exposure.
    • Disturbances in the glutamatergic system are proposed as a potential neurobiological basis for lead-induced prefrontal dysfunction.