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A new research describes how the brains of mice are damaged by exposure to air pollution in early life. The brain damage includes the enlargement of a part of the brain that is seen in humans who have autismand schizophrenia. The study is published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. As in autism and schizophrenia, the changes occurred predominately in males. The mice also performed poorly in tests of short-term memory, learning ability, and impulsivity. The new findings are consistent with several recent studies that have shown a link between air pollution and autism in children. Most notably, a 2013 study in JAMA Psychiatryreported that children who lived in areas with high levels of traffic-related air pollution during their first year of life were three times as likely to develop autism. “Our findings add to the growing body of evidence that air pollution may play a role in autism, as well as in other neurodevelopmental disorders,” said Deborah Cory-Slechta, Ph.D., professor of environmental medicine at the University of Rochester and lead author of the study. In three sets of experiments, Cory-Slechta and her colleagues exposed mice to levels of air pollution typically found in mid-sized US cities during rush hour. The exposures were conducted during the first two weeks after birth, a critical time in the brain’s development. The mice were exposed to polluted air for four hours each day for two four-day periods. | 
