Investigating Air Pollution Effects on the Developing Brain and ASD

调查空气污染对发育中的大脑和ASD的影响 摘要 本研究的目的是研究产前和生命早期接触空气污染对发育的影响。 大脑、认知和适应功能以及自闭症谱系障碍(ASD)。大脑的戏剧性变化 结构和功能在生命早期就已为人所熟知。自闭症行为在最初几年的发展 伴随着年龄相关的大脑变化，ASD儿童和其他儿童之间存在差异 具有典型的发育轨迹。流行病学研究，包括我们自己的研究表明，空气污染 暴露可能会增加患自闭症和其他神经发育障碍的风险。然而，这一影响 出生前和生命早期空气污染暴露对儿童早期脑结构和白质完整性的影响 尚未被研究，尽管越来越多的流行病学研究支持存在 对神经发育的影响。在这里，我们建议研究产前空气和早期生命空气之间的关系。 污染暴露和大脑结构和白质完整性的纵向测量，认知和 美国国立卫生研究院资助的自闭症卓越中心(ACE)网络中的适应功能、自闭症和相关特征 婴儿脑成像研究(IBIS)。IBIS是一个由四个临床站点组成的独特网络，可以招收不同程度的婴儿 ASD的家族风险，允许对比家族遗传影响。标准化的神经成像方案， 以及认知、行为和自闭症的评估，过去和现在都是定期进行的， 为研究大脑发育中的环境暴露创造了丰富的资源。我们将利用 这是第一次前瞻性研究产前和早期生活中空气污染对非常早期的影响的宝贵资源 大脑发育。具体目标是：(1)检查产前和生命早期空气污染暴露的影响 对早期纵向脑发育的影响；(2)评估产前和早期空气污染的影响 暴露于认知发展和适应功能的早期轨迹；以及(3)评估 产前及生命早期空气污染暴露对自闭症发病的影响及空间特征 自闭症。由于接触空气污染物是常见的，可以减轻，潜在的公共健康影响 这项研究规模很大。此外，在非常年幼的儿童中识别危险因素提供了 在仍有可能降低无序发育风险的情况下进行早期干预。

Investigating Air Pollution Effects on the Developing Brain and ASD ABSTRACT The goal of this study is to examine the effect of prenatal and early life air pollution exposure on the developing brain, cognitive and adaptive function, and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Dramatic changes in brain structure and function are well known in early life. The unfolding of autistic behaviors across the first few years of childhood is accompanied by age-specific brain changes that differ between children with ASD and those with typical developmental trajectories. Epidemiologic studies, including our own, suggest that air pollution exposure may increase the risk of ASD and other neurodevelopmental disorders. However, the effect of prenatal and early life air pollution exposure on brain structure and white matter integrity during early childhood has not been studied, though increasing numbers of epidemiologic studies support the presence of neurodevelopmental effects. Here we propose to examine the relationship between prenatal and early life air pollution exposure and longitudinal measures of brain structure and white matter integrity, cognitive and adaptive function, and ASD and related traits in the NIH-funded, Autism Centers of Excellence (ACE) Network Infant Brain Imaging Study (IBIS). IBIS is a unique network of four clinical sites that enroll infants at high or low familial risk for ASD, allowing for contrast of familial genetic influences. Standardized neuroimaging protocols, along with cognitive, behavior, and ASD assessments, were and are being conducted over regular intervals, creating a rich resource for the study of environmental exposures on the developing brain. We will leverage this valuable resource for the first prospective study of prenatal and early life air pollution effects on very early brain development. Specific aims are: (1) to examine the effect of prenatal and early life air pollution exposure on early longitudinal brain development; (2) to evaluate the effect of prenatal and early life air pollution exposure on the early trajectory of cognitive development and adaptive function; and (3) to assess the effect of prenatal and early life air pollution exposure on the development of ASD and dimensional characteristics of autism. Because air pollutant exposure is common and can be mitigated, the potential public health impact of this study is large. Additionally, identification of a risk factor in very young children provides the opportunity for early intervention where reduction of risk for disordered development is still possible.