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Prenatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls: a neuropsychologic analysis
Olivier Boucher1, Gina Muckle, Célyne H Bastien
1Ecole de psychologie, Université Laval, Québec, Canada.
Insights
Prenatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) is linked to specific cognitive deficits in children, particularly affecting executive functions. This review synthesizes findings to identify the cognitive profile associated with PCB exposure.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Extensive research links prenatal polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) exposure to child cognitive development.
- No comprehensive synthesis exists to pinpoint specific cognitive functions affected by prenatal PCB exposure.
Purpose of the Study:
- To conduct a literature review to identify the cognitive profile associated with prenatal PCB exposure.
- To synthesize existing research on the effects of prenatal PCB exposure on child cognition.
Main Methods:
- Literature search of PubMed database for studies published before June 2008.
- Review of data from nine prospective longitudinal birth cohorts.
- Classification of cognitive effects into general abilities, verbal/visual-spatial skills, memory, attention, and executive functions.
Main Results:
- Prenatal PCB exposure consistently correlates with impaired executive functioning.
- Most studies report negative effects on processing speed, verbal abilities, and visual recognition memory.
- Observed effects are unlikely due to co-exposure with other contaminants, based on converging cohort data.
Conclusions:
- Prenatal PCB exposure is associated with a distinct cognitive impairment profile.
- Inconsistent findings in some studies may stem from failure to assess specifically impaired functions.
- Results inform the selection of cognitive assessment methods for future research on PCB exposure.
Objectives:
A large body of literature documents the effects of prenatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) on cognitive development of children. Despite this fact, no integrative synthesis has been published yet to identify the cognitive functions that are particularly affected. Our aim is to review this literature in an attempt to identify the cognitive profile associated with prenatal PCB exposure.
Data Sources:
Studies were identified by searching the PubMed database for articles published before June 2008. We reviewed data from nine prospective longitudinal birth cohorts for different aspects of cognition.
Data Extraction:
Associations between indicators of prenatal PCB exposure and performance on cognitive tasks reported in the selected studies are summarized and classified as general cognitive abilities, verbal or visual-spatial skills, memory, attention, and executive functions.
Data Synthesis:
The most consistent effects observed across studies are impaired executive functioning related to increased prenatal PCB exposure. Negative effects on processing speed, verbal abilities, and visual recognition memory are also reported by most studies. Converging results from different cohort studies in which exposure arises from different sources make it unlikely that co-exposure with another associated contaminant is responsible for the observed effects.
Conclusion:
Prenatal PCB exposure appears to be related to a relatively specific cognitive profile of impairments. Failure to assess functions that are specifically impaired may explain the absence of effects found in some studies. Our findings have implications in the selection of cognitive assessment methods in future studies.
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