Menu
MapConnectionsTopicsBulgariaThe Night (K-TRIO)Marie Skłodowska-CurieFor studentsFor teachersMethodologySurprise me
H2020Individual fellowship2015–2017

APGAR · Air Pollution, Growing brAin and cognitive disordeR in children

Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Duration
2015-10-15 → 2017-10-14
EU contribution
€170,122
Participants
1
Scheme
MSCA-IF-EF-ST

Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.

Results in brief

Air Pollution, Growing brAin and cognitive disordeR in children

Brain maturation during the first years of life is very intensive. This period of life is considered an important window for brain development, but is also particularly vulnerable to environmental insults that may interfere with the cascade of neurodevelopmental processes . Traffic-related air pollution, a global public health threat, may be one of these neurodevelopment disruptors. All around the world, air pollution exposure has indeed been associated with adverse effects on mental development and on behavioral functions such as attention, with a reduced global IQ, with a decrease in memory and academic performance, and with a higher prevalence of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and autism. However, studies about the potential damages on growing brain induced by chronic exposure to air pollution are still scarce. Interfacing environmental epidemiology and neuroimaging may offer the opportunity to yield insights on mechanisms underlying the association between exposure to air pollution and cognitive disorder by detecting which brain function and structures may be altered by air pollution exposure. The objectives of the APGAR project were: 1) To determine the impact of urban air pollution on the structures and functions of the growing brain in children from the general population, 2) To determine to what extent the urban air pollution-related structural and functional changes of the growing brain are associated with cognitive performance in children.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

Air pollution exposure has been associated with adverse effects on cognition in children. However, the impact of air pollution on the structures and functions of the growing brain in children is unknown. The objectives of the APGAR project are to determine 1) the impact of urban air pollution on the structures and functions of the growing brain in children from the general population, 2) to what extent these structural and functional changes are associated with cognitive performance in children. The APGAR project is a longitudinal study conducted in 400 school age children from the general population, recruited between 2012 and 2013, in different schools in Barcelona, Spain. Psychometric and air pollution measurements were conducted weekly during 2 six-week periods: at the beginning of the school year and 9 months later. Neuroimaging (High-resolution 3-dimensional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Diffusion Tensor Images, Fluid Attenuation Inversion Recovery, T2-weighted spin-echo sequences and functional MRI, spectrometry) were also conducted. Interfacing neuroimaging and environmental epidemiology represents an innovative applications of neuroimaging in general population, as previous studies have focused exclusively on effects based on test scores. Using original statistical methods (combination of supervised machine learning methods, feature selection and regression models), we will examine the impact of air pollution on the brain structures correlated with cognitive performance in children. Secondly, we will examine whether profiles of brain changes, specifically related to air pollution exposure, are associated with cognition level in participants. This multidisciplinary project may improve our understanding of the mechanisms that underlie the link between air pollution and cognitive disorder in children, and may lead to public health actions to improve air quality and reduce the burden of disease associated with air pollution in Europe.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

  • FUNDACION PRIVADA INSTITUTO DE SALUD GLOBAL BARCELONA · BarcelonaCoordinatorSpain

Links

Data: CORDIS, © European Union