What is it about?
The developing brain, which is growing rapidly, is uniquely vulnerable to toxic chemicals. Toxic exposures that occur in the womb or during childhood can have lifelong implications on intellectual abilities and brain function. Moreover, research over the past 30 years has led to an inescapable conclusion: low-level exposures to toxic chemicals during the delicate process of brain development can have lifelong impacts.
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Why is it important?
We are experiencing an epidemic of brain-based disorders in children, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism and learning disabilities. In Canada and the United States, about one in every five children has a learning or behavioural disorder. Exposures to toxic chemicals that occur while the brain is developing are one of the leading contributors to the epidemic of brain-based disorders.
Perspectives
We have an unwavering belief the medical technology or drugs will solve our health problems, like brain-based disorders in children. But there are no cures; the ultimate goal is to prevent exposures that elevate the risk for brain-based disorders in children. This review provides an overview about toxic chemicals that impact brain development and describes steps to prevent the development of learning problems and behavioral disorders in children.
Dr Bruce Perrin Lanphear
Simon Fraser University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The Impact of Toxins on the Developing Brain, Annual Review of Public Health, March 2015, Annual Reviews,
DOI: 10.1146/annurev-publhealth-031912-114413.
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