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Published on: August 17, 2019
A preliminary study on prenatal polybrominated diphenyl ether serum concentrations and intrinsic functional network
Erik de Water1, Paul Curtin1, Anna Zilverstand2
1Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
Insights
Prenatal exposure to flame retardants (PBDEs) is linked to increased global brain efficiency in visual attention areas and more executive function problems in children. These brain changes mediate the association between PBDEs and executive function deficits.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Environmental Health
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Prenatal exposure to environmental toxicants poses risks to neurodevelopment.
- Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), used as flame retardants, are persistent neurotoxicants.
- Despite widespread exposure, the neural mechanisms linking prenatal PBDEs to neurodevelopmental issues remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between prenatal PBDE serum concentrations and brain functional network organization in children.
- To examine the relationship between prenatal PBDEs and executive functioning (EF) in children.
- To determine if brain network alterations mediate the link between prenatal PBDE exposure and EF problems.
Main Methods:
- Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to assess intrinsic functional network organization in 5-year-old children.
- Graph-theoretical approaches estimated global and local efficiency of brain networks.
- Maternal serum PBDE concentrations and child executive functioning (via parent-report) were measured.
Main Results:
- Higher prenatal PBDE concentrations were associated with increased global efficiency in visual attention brain regions.
- Children with higher prenatal PBDE exposure reported more executive functioning problems.
- Increased global efficiency in visual attention areas correlated with more executive functioning problems.
Conclusions:
- Intrinsic functional network organization in visual attention areas mediates the link between prenatal PBDE exposure and executive function deficits.
- Visual attention networks may play a crucial role in the development of higher-order cognitive functions like executive functioning.
- Findings highlight potential neural pathways affected by developmental neurotoxicant exposure.
Background:
The prenatal period is a period of vulnerability during which neurotoxic exposures exert persistent changes in brain development and behavior. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), used as flame retardants in commercial products, are known to be developmental neurotoxicants. PBDEs were phased out of use in the United States a decade ago, but exposure remains widespread due to their release from existing products and biopersistence. Despite consistent animal and epidemiological evidence of developmental neurotoxicity, the neural substrates linking prenatal PBDE serum concentrations to impaired neurodevelopment are poorly understood.
Methods:
In the present study, we used resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine associations between prenatal PBDE concentrations measured in maternal serum and intrinsic functional network organization (i.e., global and local efficiency; estimated using a graph-theoretical approach) in 5-year-old children (n = 34). We explored whether PBDE serum concentrations were associated with executive functioning (EF) assessed using a parent-report questionnaire (BRIEF-P) (n = 106) and whether changes in intrinsic functional network organization linked the association between prenatal PBDE serum concentrations and EF problems.
Results:
Children with higher prenatal PBDE serum concentrations showed: (a) increased global efficiency of brain areas involved in visual attention (e.g., inferior occipital gyrus) (β's = .01, FDR-corrected p's ≤ .05); (b) more reported EF problems (β's = .001, FDR-corrected p's ≤ .05). Higher global efficiency of brain areas involved in visual attention was associated with more EF problems (β's = .01, FDR-corrected p's < .05).
Conclusions:
Intrinsic functional network organization of visual attention brain areas linked prenatal PBDE concentrations to EF problems in childhood. Visual attention may contribute to the development of higher-order cognitive functions, such as EF, which could be explored in future studies.
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