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Environmental Exposures and Neuroimaging in Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders: A Scoping Review
Elza Rechtman1, Vida Rebello2, Azzurra Invernizzi2
1Department of Environmental Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA. Elza.rechtman@mssm.edu.
Current Environmental Health Reports
|April 30, 2026
Summary
Environmental neurotoxicants like air pollution and metals are linked to brain changes in children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). This review highlights how exposures impact brain structure and function, underscoring the need for public health interventions.
Area of Science:
- Environmental health
- Neuroscience
- Developmental pediatrics
Background:
- Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), including autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), are increasingly linked to environmental exposures.
- The precise neurobiological mechanisms by which environmental neurotoxicants affect brain development in NDDs remain unclear.
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a crucial in vivo tool for investigating these impacts.
Purpose of the Study:
- To conduct a scoping review of current evidence linking prenatal and early-life environmental exposures to neuroimaging findings in children with NDDs.
- To synthesize research on associations between specific environmental factors (air pollution, metals, tobacco smoke, endocrine-disrupting chemicals) and brain development in NDDs.
- To identify gaps and suggest future research directions for understanding exposure-related neurodevelopmental outcomes.
Main Methods:
- A comprehensive literature search was performed to identify studies examining environmental exposures and MRI outcomes in children diagnosed with NDDs.
- Studies included assessments from pregnancy through childhood, focusing on neuroimaging data.
- The review synthesized findings related to air pollution, metals, environmental tobacco smoke, and endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs).
Main Results:
- Fourteen studies revealed associations between environmental exposures and MRI outcomes in children with NDDs.
- Air pollution exposure correlated with reduced volumes in the caudate nucleus and corpus callosum.
- Metal exposure was linked to altered cortical thickness and functional connectivity; tobacco smoke exposure showed reduced cerebellar and frontal cortex volumes; EDCs were associated with cortical thinning and altered brain activity, particularly in ADHD cases.
Conclusions:
- The reviewed literature suggests that exposure to environmental neurotoxicants can disrupt brain development in children with NDDs.
- Future research should employ longitudinal, transdiagnostic designs with multimodal imaging and advanced statistical modeling.
- Findings emphasize the critical need for public health interventions to reduce neurotoxicant exposure and mitigate neurodevelopmental risks.
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