Bridging indoor air quality and human neurocognitive function

恶劣的室内空气是大多数加拿大人最大的环境风险，是造成各种急性和慢性健康后果的原因。尽管COVID-19疫情令室内空气质素及通风备受关注，但室内空气仍然是传统环境监管方法难以解决的持续问题。这个跨学科项目旨在将关键认知和神经功能的测量与室内污染物暴露机械地联系起来。到目前为止，研究室内空气质量对人体性能的影响一直受到将空气质量工程与人类认知科学和神经科学相结合的实际挑战的限制。重要的是，先前的工作未能在呼吸水平上精确监测和控制污染物浓度。了解吸入空气中的污染物混合物如何直接影响生理和神经生物学反应，并间接影响与性能和决策相关的认知行为，是了解室内空气质量如何改变人类体验的关键。我们的科学目标是建立一个暴露于室内污染物的神经认知模型，需要对大脑中发生的过程进行功能性理解。作为这项研究的一部分，我们将使用功能性磁共振成像（fMRI）直接测试对注意力，学习，记忆和决策至关重要的大脑区域如何受到室内污染物浓度的调节。我们目前的建议支持这一目标的关键仪器：MRI兼容的暴露/剂量系统，将允许控制暴露和精确监测血气混合物。该系统与现有的呼吸和生物标志物仪器一起沿着将提供室内空气污染物的生理和神经认知影响的独特表征，以及这些影响如何在个体之间变化。该提案的调查结果将明确室内空气质量差对加拿大认知功能和生产力的影响，并为改善室内空气的监管行动和投资提供强大的动力。此外，同时考虑室内空气质量和人类的认知性能将作出新的和重要的理论贡献，心理学和工程。这项工作的发现将促进神经认知模型的发展，使环境、大脑和行为之间的联系正式化。该提案将扩展室内空气工程，对污染物浓度和控制方法对人类认知的直接影响有了新的认识。拟议的仪器将创造一个独特的世界级的研究环境，以建立这种新的室内空气方法，并支持培训新一代跨学科的HQP，他们利用整合研究领域来支持所有加拿大人更健康的未来。

Poor indoor air is most Canadian's largest environmental risk and is responsible for a variety of acute and chronic health outcomes. Even with the attention on indoor air quality and ventilation with the COVID-19 pandemic, indoor air continues to be persistent problem that is resistant to conventional environmental regulatory approaches. This interdisciplinary project aims to mechanistically link measures of critical cognitive and neural function with indoor pollutant exposures. To date, studying the moment-by-moment effects of indoor air quality on human performance has been limited by pragmatic challenges of integrating the engineering of air quality with the science of human cognition and neuroscience. Critically, prior work has failed to precisely monitor and control pollutant concentrations at the level of respiration. Understanding how pollutant mixtures in inhaled air directly impact physiological and neurobiological responses and indirectly affect cognitive behaviours related to performance and decision making is key to understanding how indoor air quality alters the human experience. Our scientific goal is to create a neurocognitive model of exposure to indoor pollutants that requires a functional understanding of processes occurring in the brain. As part of this research, we will directly test how brain regions critical for attention, learning, memory, and decision-making are modulated by indoor pollutant concentrations using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Our current proposal supports this goal with a critical instrumentation: an MRI-compatible exposure/dosing system that will allow for both controlled exposures and precise monitoring of blood gas mixtures. This system along with existing respiratory and biomarker instrumentation will provide a unique characterization of the physiological and neurocognitive impact of indoor air pollutants and how these impacts vary across individuals. Findings from this proposal will make clear the consequences of poor indoor air on Canadian cognitive function and productivity and provide the considerable reward of a strong motivation for regulatory action and investment in improving indoor air. Moreover, simultaneously considering indoor air quality and human cognitive performance will make novel and important theoretical contributions to both psychology and engineering. Findings from the proposed work will motivate the development of neurocognitive models that formalize the links between environment, brain, and behaviour. This proposal will extend indoor air engineering with a new understanding of pollutant concentrations and control approaches in terms of direct impacts on human cognition. The proposed instrumentation will create a unique world-class research environment for establishing this new approach to indoor air and support training a new generation of interdisciplinary HQP who capitalize on integrating research domains to support a healthier future for all Canadians.