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Event Related Potentials (ERPs) and other EEG Based Methods for Extracting Biomarkers of Brain Dysfunction: Examples from Pediatric Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
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Lead and PCBs as risk factors for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Paul A Eubig1, Andréa Aguiar, Susan L Schantz

  • 1Department of Comparative Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61802, USA. eubig@illinois.edu

Environmental Health Perspectives
|September 11, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Environmental chemicals like lead and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are linked to attention deficits and executive function impairments seen in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). These exposures may increase ADHD prevalence.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Environmental Health
  • Pediatrics

Background:

  • Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common childhood neurobehavioral disorder with unclear origins.
  • Environmental chemical exposures are increasingly investigated for their role in neurodevelopmental disorders.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review evidence linking environmental chemicals, specifically lead and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), to neurobehavioral deficits observed in ADHD.
  • To explore the potential role of these contaminants in the etiology and prevalence of ADHD.

Main Methods:

  • Systematic literature search of PubMed for human and animal studies on developmental lead or PCB exposure.
  • Keywords included "lead," "PCB exposure," "attention," "working memory," "response inhibition," "executive function," "cognitive function," "behavior," and "ADHD."
  • Focused on studies assessing functional domains impaired in ADHD.

Main Results:

  • Developmental exposure to lead and PCBs in humans and animals is associated with deficits in attention and executive functions (e.g., working memory, response inhibition).
  • Lead exposure may impact both attention and response inhibition, while PCBs appear to more significantly affect response inhibition.
  • Recent studies link low-level lead exposure to ADHD diagnoses, though similar research on PCBs is limited.

Conclusions:

  • Environmental contaminants like lead and PCBs may contribute to the increasing prevalence of ADHD.
  • Further research is needed to fully elucidate the relationship between PCB exposure and ADHD.
Abstract

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