Air pollution is the vital cause of brain damage and other psychological disorders which also lead to memory damage and depression, a latest study has revealed.
It is now an established fact that air pollution is the main cause of lung disease, heart problem etc. but this new study has worried the experts a lot as air pollution is now being sensed as a threat for human intelligence.
A group of neuroscientists from Ohio State University carried out the research on some mice and exposed them to air pollution — after ten months they were surprised to see that not only the respiratory system was damaged but also the mice behavior depicted anxiety, memory loss and depression.
Team leader, Laura Fonken told that the physical characteristics of the brain(particularly the hippocampus region of the brain) of mice were damaged which is the most critical observation in this study — shows the extent to which air pollution can be harmful.
According to Laura:
The hippocampus region of brain is particularly sensitive to damage caused by inflammation. We suspect that the systemic inflammation caused by breathing polluted air is being communicated to thecentral nervous system.
The results of this study are of great importance because the mice were exposed to an environment similar to the environment we the human beings face each day on the roads. The damaging effects of air pollution are even bigger and deadlier in industrially growing countries like America, China and India.
This study is an alert for people, working in an environment which are excessively exposed to the polluted air and noisy environments.
The results suggest prolonged exposure to polluted air can have visible, negative effects on the brain, which can lead to a variety of health problems. This could have important and troubling implications for people who live and work in polluted urban areas around the world.
