Changes in the Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Are Associated with Improvements in Diabetes Risk Factors after Exercise Training in Adolescents with Obesity: The HEARTY Randomized Controlled Trial.

Obesity in youth increases the risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D), and both are risk factors for neurocognitive deficits. Exercise attenuates the risk of obesity and T2D while improving cognitive function. In adults, these benefits are associated with the actions of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein critical in modulating neuroplasticity, glucose regulation, fat oxidation, and appetite regulation in adults. However, little research exists in youth. This study examined the associations between changes in diabetes risk factors and changes in BDNF levels after 6 months of exercise training in adolescents with obesity. The sample consisted of 202 postpubertal adolescents with obesity (70% females) aged 14-18 years who were randomized to 6 months of aerobic and/or resistance training or nonexercise control. All participants received a healthy eating plan designed to induce a 250/kcal deficit per day. Resting serum BDNF levels and diabetes risk factors, such as fasting glucose, insulin, homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-B-beta cell insulin secretory capacity) and (HOMA-IS-insulin sensitivity), and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), were measured after an overnight fast at baseline and 6 months. There were no significant intergroup differences on changes in BDNF or diabetes risk factors. In the exercise group, increases in BDNF were associated with reductions in fasting glucose (ß = -6.57, SE = 3.37, p = 0.05) and increases in HOMA-B (ß = 0.093, SE = 0.03, p = 0.004) after controlling for confounders. No associations were found between changes in diabetes risk factors and BDNF in controls. In conclusion, exercise-induced reductions in some diabetes risk factors were associated with increases in BDNF in adolescents with obesity, suggesting that exercise training may be an effective strategy to promote metabolic health and increases in BDNF, a protein favoring neuroplasticity. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00195858, September 12, 2005 (funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research).

Exposures to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone above USA standards are associated with auditory brainstem dysmorphology and abnormal auditory brainstem evoked potentials in healthy young dogs.

BACKGROUND: Delayed central conduction times in the auditory brainstem have been observed in Mexico City (MC) healthy children exposed to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone (O3) above the current United States Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA) standards. MC children have α synuclein brainstem accumulation and medial superior olivary complex (MSO) dysmorphology. The present study used a dog model to investigate the potential effects of air pollution on the function and morphology of the auditory brainstem. METHODOLOGY: Twenty-four dogs living in clean air v MC, average age 37.1 ± 26.3 months, underwent brainstem auditory evoked potential (BAEP) measurements. Eight dogs (4 MC, 4 Controls) were analysed for auditory brainstem morphology and histopathology. RESULTS: MC dogs showed ventral cochlear nuclei hypotrophy and MSO dysmorphology with a significant decrease in cell body size, decreased neuronal packing density with regions in the nucleus devoid of neurons and marked gliosis. MC dogs showed significant delayed BAEP absolute wave I, III and V latencies compared to controls. CONCLUSIONS: MC dogs show auditory nuclei dysmorphology and BAEPs consistent with an alteration of the generator sites of the auditory brainstem response waveform. This study puts forward the usefulness of BAEPs to study auditory brainstem neurodegenerative changes associated with air pollution in dogs. Recognition of the role of non-invasive BAEPs in urban dogs is warranted to elucidate novel neurodegenerative pathways link to air pollution and a promising early diagnostic strategy for Alzheimer's Disease.

El Sistema-inspired ensemble music training is associated with changes in children's neurocognitive functional integration: preliminary ERP evidence.

Children (aged 9-12) training in an El Sistema-inspired program (OrKidstra) and a matched comparison group participated in an auditory Go/No-Go task while event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded. Entire-sweep waveform patterns correlated with known ERP peaks associated with executive and other cognitive functions and indicated that the spread of neural activity in the initial 250 ms of executive attention processing (pre-P300) showed higher level of topographical overlap in OrKidstra children. In these children, late potentials (post-P300) concurrent with response control were more widely distributed and temporally coordinated. Intensive ensemble music training, we suggest, may be associated with neuroplastic changes facilitating integration of neural information.

Interactive and additive influences of Gender, BMI and Apolipoprotein 4 on cognition in children chronically exposed to high concentrations of PM2.5 and ozone. APOE 4 females are at highest risk in Mexico City.

Children's air pollution exposures are associated with systemic and brain inflammation and the early hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The Apolipoprotein E (APOE) 4 allele is the most prevalent genetic risk for AD, with higher risk for women. We assessed whether gender, BMI, APOE and metabolic variables in healthy children with high exposures to ozone and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) influence cognition. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-R) was administered to 105 Mexico City children (12.32±5.4 years, 69 APOE 3/3 and 36 APOE 3/4). APOE 4v 3 children showed decrements on attention and short-term memory subscales, and below-average scores in Verbal, Performance and Full Scale IQ. APOE 4 females had higher BMI and females with normal BMI between 75-94% percentiles had the highest deficits in Total IQ, Performance IQ, Digit Span, Picture Arrangement, Block Design and Object Assembly. Fasting glucose was significantly higher in APOE 4 children p=0.006, while Gender was the main variable accounting for the difference in insulin, HOMA-IR and leptin (p<.05). Gender, BMI and APOE influence children's cognitive responses to air pollution and glucose is likely a key player. APOE 4 heterozygous females with >75% to <94% BMI percentiles are at the highest risk of severe cognitive deficits (1.5-2SD from average IQ). Young female results highlight the urgent need for gender-targeted health programmes to improve cognitive responses. Multidisciplinary intervention strategies could provide paths for prevention or amelioration of female air pollution targeted cognitive deficits and possible long-term AD progression.

Megacities air pollution problems: Mexico City Metropolitan Area critical issues on the central nervous system pediatric impact.

The chronic health effects associated with sustained exposures to high concentrations of air pollutants are an important issue for millions of megacity residents and millions more living in smaller urban and rural areas. Particulate matter (PM) and ozone (O3) concentrations close or above their respective air quality standards during the last 20 years affect 24 million people living in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA). Herein we discuss PM and O3 trends in MCMA and their possible association with the observed central nervous system (CNS) effects in clinically healthy children. We argue that prenatal and postnatal sustained exposures to a natural environmental exposure chamber contribute to detrimental neural responses. The emerging picture for MCMA children shows systemic inflammation, immunodysregulation at both systemic and brain levels, oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, small blood vessel pathology, and an intrathecal inflammatory process, along with the early neuropathological hallmarks for Alzheimer and Parkinson's diseases. Exposed brains are briskly responding to their harmful environment and setting the bases for structural and volumetric changes, cognitive, olfactory, auditory and vestibular deficits and long term neurodegenerative consequences. We need to improve our understanding of the PM pediatric short and long term CNS impact through multidisciplinary research. Public health benefit can be achieved by integrating interventions that reduce fine PM levels and pediatric exposures and establishing preventative screening programs targeting pediatric populations that are most at risk. We fully expect that the health of 24 million residents is important and blocking pediatric air pollution research and hiding critical information that ought to be available to our population, health, education and social workers is not in the best interest of our children.

Mexico City normal weight children exposed to high concentrations of ambient PM2.5 show high blood leptin and endothelin-1, vitamin D deficiency, and food reward hormone dysregulation versus low pollution controls. Relevance for obesity and Alzheimer disease.

Millions of Mexico, US and across the world children are overweight and obese. Exposure to fossil-fuel combustion sources increases the risk for obesity and diabetes, while long-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone (O3) above US EPA standards is associated with increased risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Mexico City Metropolitan Area children are chronically exposed to PM2.5 and O3 concentrations above the standards and exhibit systemic, brain and intrathecal inflammation, cognitive deficits, and Alzheimer disease neuropathology. We investigated adipokines, food reward hormones, endothelial dysfunction, vitamin D and apolipoprotein E (APOE) relationships in 80 healthy, normal weight 11.1±3.2 year olds matched by age, gender, BMI and SES, low (n: 26) versus high (n:54) PM2.5 exposures. Mexico City children had higher leptin and endothelin-1 (p<0.01 and p<0.000), and decreases in glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP 1), ghrelin, and glucagon (<0.02) versus controls. BMI and leptin relationships were significantly different in low versus high PM2.5 exposed children. Mexico City APOE 4 versus 3 children had higher glucose (p=0.009). Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D<30 ng/mL was documented in 87% of Mexico City children. Leptin is strongly positively associated to PM 2.5 cumulative exposures. Residing in a high PM2.5 and O3 environment is associated with 12h fasting hyperleptinemia, altered appetite-regulating peptides, vitamin D deficiency, and increases in ET-1 in clinically healthy children. These changes could signal the future trajectory of urban children towards the development of insulin resistance, obesity, type II diabetes, premature cardiovascular disease, addiction-like behavior, cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease. Increased efforts should be made to decrease pediatric PM2.5 exposures, to deliver health interventions prior to the development of obesity and to identify and mitigate environmental factors influencing obesity and Alzheimer disease.

Frontal P300 asymmetry and congruence judgment: Retroactive switching is impaired during school day mornings in female adolescents.

Investigating frontal EEG asymmetry as a possible biomarker of cognitive control abilities is especially important in ecological contexts such as school and work. We used a novel approach combining judgment performance and hemispheric frontal event-related potential (ERP) P300 asymmetry (fP3As) to evaluate aspects of cognitive control (i.e., repetition and switching) in adolescent females over a two-week ordinary school period. While undergoing electroencephalographic recording, students performed a word-colour "Stroop-like" congruence judgment task during morning and afternoon sessions, on Mondays and Wednesdays. Proportion of incongruence and congruence trials was 75% and 25%, respectively. ERP analysis revealed larger "novelty" right hemispheric fP3As amplitude for infrequent congruence but equivalent or significantly smaller than left hemispheric fP3As amplitude for frequent incongruence. RTs increased with extent of right fP3As shift. Behaviorally, repeat trial pairs (i.e., congruent followed by congruent, incongruent followed by incongruent) generally did not differ by time or day and were associated with near-ceiling accuracy. In contrast, switch trial pairs (i.e., congruent followed by incongruent, incongruent followed by congruent) in the afternoon were slower and associated with lower accuracy at the expected 75% criterion rate (i.e., judging incongruence by default), dropping significantly below 75% in the mornings. Crucially, compared to afternoon, morning fP3As patterns did not change adaptively with switch trial pairs. Although retroactive switching during congruence judgment was affected at all testing times, we conclude it was most impaired in the mornings of both early and mid school weeks, supporting misalignment between adolescent circadian cycle and school start time. We discuss some implications for optimal learning of adolescents at school.

Air pollution and neurological diseases, current state highlights.

This paper delves into the increasingly recognized yet complex relationship between air pollution and Neurological Diseases. Although the detrimental effects of air pollution on respiratory and cardiovascular health are well-documented, its impact on neurological and cognitive disorders is an emerging area of concern. In this mini review, we explore the intricate mechanisms by which various air pollutants, such as particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, contribute to neurological pathologies. The focus lies on the role of oxidative stress and inflammation in exacerbating conditions like Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. By unraveling these connections, the paper sheds light on the broader implications of environmental factors on neurological health and underscores the urgent need for policy interventions to mitigate air pollution's impact on the nervous system.

Reconsidering Luria's speech mediation: Verbalization and haptic picture identification in children with congenital total blindness.

Current accounts of behavioral and neurocognitive correlates of plasticity in blindness are just beginning to incorporate the role of speech and verbal production. We assessed Vygotsky/Luria's speech mediation hypothesis, according to which speech activity can become a mediating tool for perception of complex stimuli, specifically, for encoding tactual/haptic spatial patterns which convey pictorial information (haptic pictures). We compared verbalization in congenitally totally blind (CTB) and age-matched sighted but visually impaired (VI) children during a haptic picture naming task which included two repeated, test-retest, identifications. The children were instructed to explore 10 haptic schematic pictures of objects (e.g., cup) and body parts (e.g., face) and provide (without experimenter's feedback) their typical name. Children's explorations and verbalizations were videorecorded and transcribed into audio segments. Using the Computerized Analysis of Language (CLAN) program, we extracted several measurements from the observed verbalizations, including number of utterances and words, utterance/word duration, and exploration time. Using the Word2Vec natural language processing technique we operationalized semantic content from the relative distances between the names provided. Furthermore, we conducted an observational content analysis in which three judges categorized verbalizations according to a rating scale assessing verbalization content. Results consistently indicated across all measures that the CTB children were faster and semantically more precise than their VI counterparts in the first identification test, however, the VI children reached the same level of precision and speed as the CTB children at retest. Overall, the task was harder for the VI group. Consistent with current neuroscience literature, the prominent role of speech in CTB and VI children's data suggests that an underlying cross-modal involvement of integrated brain networks, notably associated with Broca's network, likely also influenced by Braille, could play a key role in compensatory plasticity via the mediational mechanism postulated by Luria.

Brief Myofascial Intervention Modulates Visual Event-Related Potential Response to Emotional Photographic Contents: A Pilot Study.

The use of touch for the treatment of psychiatric disorders is increasingly investigated, as it is shown that cognitive symptoms can be improved by various forms of massage. To investigate if the effect of massage is measurable using classical visual event-related potential components (P1, P2, late positive potential (LPP)), we performed a preliminary study on six participants using myofascial induction massage. Participants were shown emotionally valenced or neutral images before and after a 20 min myofascial massage. We found general increases in P2 amplitude following the intervention across all conditions (both neutral and affective), indicating increased attention or salience to visual stimuli. The magnitude of change was visibly larger for unpleasant stimuli, suggesting that visual perception and attention were modulated specifically in response to unpleasant visual images. The LPP showed reductions in amplitude after myofascial massage, suggesting increased emotional modulation following intervention, as a result of possible DMN alterations, consistent with region and function. We conclude that brief myofascial intervention supports other research in the field, finding that physical touch and massage techniques can alter cognition and perception. We posit further research to investigate its future use as an intervention for both physical and cognitive modulation. Importantly, we provide preliminary evidence that the neural processes that resonate with this type of massage involve complex feedforward and backward cortical pathways, of which a significant portion participate in modulating the visual perception of external stimuli.

More Evidence That Ensemble Music Training Influences Children's Neurobehavioral Correlates of Auditory Executive Attention.

We assessed the neurocognitive correlates of auditory executive attention in low socioeconomic status 9-12-year-old children-with and without training in a social music program (OrKidstra). Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded during an auditory Go/NoGo task utilizing 1100 Hz and 2000 Hz pure tones. We examined Go trials, which required attention, tone discrimination and executive response control. We measured Reaction Times (RTs), accuracy and amplitude of relevant ERP signatures: N100-N200 complex, P300, and Late Potentials (LP). Children also completed a screening test for auditory sensory sensitivity and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-IV) to assess verbal comprehension. OrKidstra children had faster RTs and larger ERP amplitudes to the Go tone. Specifically, compared to their comparison counterparts, they showed more negative-going polarities bilaterally for N1-N2 and LP signatures across the scalp and larger P300s in parietal and right temporal electrodes; some enhancements were lateralized (i.e., left frontal, and right central and parietal electrodes). Because auditory screening yielded no between-group differences, results suggest that music training did not enhance sensory processing but perceptual and attentional skills, possibly shifting from top-down to more bottom-up processes. Findings have implications for socially based music training interventions in school, specifically for socioeconomically disadvantaged children.

Safety and Tolerability of tDCS across Different Ages, Sexes, Diagnoses, and Amperages: A Randomized Double-Blind Controlled Study.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique with substantial evidence for its safety and tolerability in adults. However, less than 5% of published tDCS research is in pediatrics. Our primary objective was to investigate tDCS safety, tolerability, and acceptability in a sample of children and adults. We hypothesized that children and adults would be equal with regard to tDCS safety, tolerability, and acceptability. We tested this hypothesis using a Bayesian approach. Sixty participants aged 6-45 (balanced for sex) participated in a randomized double-blind controlled trial. They were randomly assigned to two ten-minute tDCS sessions with varying amperages and electrode locations. The primary outcome measure of this study was the intensity of 13 potential side effects evaluated at six different time points spanning two weeks. Independent sample Bayes factor tests were conducted between children/adults, males/females, clinical/healthy, and low/high amperage groups. As predicted, there was moderate support for the null hypothesis in all between-group analyses. There were no serious adverse events or dropouts, and the number needed to treat for an additional harmful outcome was 23. This study provided evidence supporting the overall short-term safety, tolerability, and acceptability of tDCS including amperages up to 2 mA and different electrode placements.

From Brain Models to Robotic Embodied Cognition: How Does Biological Plausibility Inform Neuromorphic Systems?

We examine the challenging "marriage" between computational efficiency and biological plausibility-A crucial node in the domain of spiking neural networks at the intersection of neuroscience, artificial intelligence, and robotics. Through a transdisciplinary review, we retrace the historical and most recent constraining influences that these parallel fields have exerted on descriptive analysis of the brain, construction of predictive brain models, and ultimately, the embodiment of neural networks in an enacted robotic agent. We study models of Spiking Neural Networks (SNN) as the central means enabling autonomous and intelligent behaviors in biological systems. We then provide a critical comparison of the available hardware and software to emulate SNNs for investigating biological entities and their application on artificial systems. Neuromorphics is identified as a promising tool to embody SNNs in real physical systems and different neuromorphic chips are compared. The concepts required for describing SNNs are dissected and contextualized in the new no man's land between cognitive neuroscience and artificial intelligence. Although there are recent reviews on the application of neuromorphic computing in various modules of the guidance, navigation, and control of robotic systems, the focus of this paper is more on closing the cognition loop in SNN-embodied robotics. We argue that biologically viable spiking neuronal models used for electroencephalogram signals are excellent candidates for furthering our knowledge of the explainability of SNNs. We complete our survey by reviewing different robotic modules that can benefit from neuromorphic hardware, e.g., perception (with a focus on vision), localization, and cognition. We conclude that the tradeoff between symbolic computational power and biological plausibility of hardware can be best addressed by neuromorphics, whose presence in neurorobotics provides an accountable empirical testbench for investigating synthetic and natural embodied cognition. We argue this is where both theoretical and empirical future work should converge in multidisciplinary efforts involving neuroscience, artificial intelligence, and robotics.

Exploring Shared Trauma in the Time of COVID: A Simulation-Based Survey Study of Mental Health Clinicians.

From fear of contracting the virus, isolation from physical distancing, to navigating lifework balance, the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to leave long-lasting psychosocial impacts on many. Shared trauma refers to similar psychological reactions to an extraordinary community event when experienced by both the clinicians and clients. We examined the experiences mong mental health clinicians in Canada and the United States (n = 196) in this online survey study during the second phase of the pandemic (Spring 2021). In addition to using traditional survey items (e.g., demographics, scales, and short answers), we also used video-recorded Simulated Clients (SC; i.e., professional actors) as a novel method to elicit the participants' assessment of the SCs and the psychosocial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using shared trauma as a theoretical framework, we analyzed both quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative results suggested that although these mental health clinicians certainly reported experiencing psychosocial impacts of the pandemic themselves, these shared experiences with client and general populations did not greatly impact how they understood the SCs. Qualitative results helped further contextualize the clinicians' own personal and professional lives. Implications for clinical practice and further research related to shared trauma are discussed.

Cognitive control, bedtime patterns, and testing time in female adolescent students: behavioral and neuro-electrophysiological correlates.

Introduction: Shorter and/or disrupted sleep during adolescence is associated with cognitive and mental health risks, particularly in females. We explored the relationship between bedtime behavior patterns co-varying with Social Jet Lag (SJL) and School Start Times (SST) and neurocognitive performance in adolescent female students. Methods: To investigate whether time of day (morning vs. afternoon), early SSTs and days of the school week can be correlated with neurocognitive correlates of sleep insufficiency, we recruited 24 female students aged 16-18 to report sleep logs, and undergo event-related electroencephalographic recordings on Monday, Wednesday, mornings, and afternoons. Using a Stroop task paradigm, we analyzed correlations between reaction times (RTs), accuracy, time of day, day of week, electroencephalographic data, and sleep log data to understand what relationships may exist. Results: Participants reported a 2-h sleep phase delay and SJL. Stroop interference influenced accuracy on Monday and Wednesday similarly, with better performance in the afternoon. For RTs, the afternoon advantage was much larger on Monday than Wednesday. Midline Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) yielded higher amplitudes and shorter latencies on Wednesday morning and Monday afternoon, in time windows related to attention or response execution. A notable exception were delayed ERP latencies on Wednesday afternoon. The latter could be explained by the fact that delta EEG waves tended to be the most prominent, suggesting heightened error monitoring due to accumulating mental fatigue. Discussion: These findings provide insights into the interaction between SJL and SST and suggest evidence-based criteria for planning when female adolescents should engage in cognitive-heavy school activities such as tests or exams.

The effects of interference on recognition of haptic pictures in blindfolded sighted participants: the modality of representation of haptic information.

Haptic picture recognition was tested in 36 undergraduate students to determine whether haptic representations are visual or multi-modal. Participants explored target haptic pictures and were asked to recognize the target from three alternatives. Each participant completed eight control and eight interference trials in visual, lexical and tactile recognition modalities. For interference, participants were assigned to either an articulatory suppression (repeat "the" at a constant rate) or a visual interference (watch a visual display) condition, to prevent recoding into a verbal or visual code. The results showed that accuracy was higher at control compared to interference trials and for tactile compared to lexical recognition. Additionally, lexical and tactile recognition decreased with articulatory suppression whereas only tactile recognition decreased with visual interference. These findings suggest that haptic pictures may be represented by coordinating visual and verbal codes.

Multidisciplinary Intersections on Artificial-Human Vividness: Phenomenology, Representation, and the Brain.

This article will explore the expressivity and tractability of vividness, as viewed from the interdisciplinary perspective of the cognitive sciences, including the sub-disciplines of artificial intelligence, cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and phenomenology. Following the precursor work by Benussi in experimental phenomenology, seminal papers by David Marks in psychology and, later, Hector Levesque in computer science, a substantial part of the discussion has been around a symbolic approach to the concept of vividness. At the same time, a similar concept linked to semantic memory, imagery, and mental models has had a long history in cognitive psychology, with new emerging links to cognitive neuroscience. More recently, there is a push towards neural-symbolic representations which allows room for the integration of brain models of vividness to a symbolic concept of vividness. Such works lead to question the phenomenology of vividness in the context of consciousness, and the related ethical concerns. The purpose of this paper is to review the state of the art, advances, and further potential developments of artificial-human vividness while laying the ground for a shared conceptual platform for dialogue, communication, and debate across all the relevant sub-disciplines. Within such context, an important goal of the paper is to define the crucial role of vividness in grounding simulation and modeling within the psychology (and neuroscience) of human reasoning.

Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration of the Central Nervous System from Air Pollutants: A Scoping Review.

In this scoping review, we provide a selective mapping of the global literature on the effects of air pollution on the life-span development of the central nervous system. Our synthesis first defines developmental neurotoxicants and the model effects of particulate matter. We then discuss air pollution as a test bench for neurotoxicants, including animal models, the framework of systemic inflammation in all affected organs of the body, and the cascade effects on the developing brain, with the most prevalent neurological structural and functional outcomes. Specifically, we focus on evidence on magnetic resonance imaging and neurodegenerative diseases, and the links between neuronal apoptosis and inflammation. There is evidence of a developmental continuity of outcomes and effects that can be observed from utero to aging due to severe or significant exposure to neurotoxicants. These substances alter the normal trajectory of neurological aging in a propulsive way towards a significantly higher rate of acceleration than what is expected if our atmosphere were less polluted. The major aggravating role of this neurodegenerative process is linked with the complex action of neuroinflammation. However, most recent evidence learned from research on the effects of COVID-19 lockdowns around the world suggests that a short-term drastic improvement in the air we breathe is still possible. Moreover, the study of mitohormesis and vitagenes is an emerging area of research interest in anti-inflammatory and antidegenerative therapeutics, which may have enormous promise in combatting the deleterious effects of air pollution through pharmacological and dietary interventions.

Acceptability of transcranial direct current stimulation in children and adolescents with ADHD: The point of view of parents.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a novel treatment option for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. To facilitate translation into clinical practice, we interviewed parents of children who have experienced experimental tDCS. A grounded theory approach using open, axial, and selective coding provided seven emergent themes for acceptability: tDCS provides hope for parents, safety tolerability and side effects of tDCS versus medication, burden of treatment, education and trust with care providers, cost and coverage, unestablished tDCS efficacy versus established medication effectiveness, perceived compliance of tDCS versus medication. Results suggest tDCS is acceptable but depends on evidence of effectiveness and regular availability.

Exposure to severe urban air pollution influences cognitive outcomes, brain volume and systemic inflammation in clinically healthy children.

Exposure to severe air pollution produces neuroinflammation and structural brain alterations in children. We tested whether patterns of brain growth, cognitive deficits and white matter hyperintensities (WMH) are associated with exposures to severe air pollution. Baseline and 1 year follow-up measurements of global and regional brain MRI volumes, cognitive abilities (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised, WISC-R), and serum inflammatory mediators were collected in 20 Mexico City (MC) children (10 with white matter hyperintensities, WMH(+), and 10 without, WMH(-)) and 10 matched controls (CTL) from a low polluted city. There were significant differences in white matter volumes between CTL and MC children - both WMH(+) and WMH(-) - in right parietal and bilateral temporal areas. Both WMH(-) and WMH(+) MC children showed progressive deficits, compared to CTL children, on the WISC-R Vocabulary and Digit Span subtests. The cognitive deficits in highly exposed children match the localization of the volumetric differences detected over the 1 year follow-up, since the deficits observed are consistent with impairment of parietal and temporal lobe functions. Regardless of the presence of prefrontal WMH, Mexico City children performed more poorly across a variety of cognitive tests, compared to CTL children, thus WMH(+) is likely only partially identifying underlying white matter pathology. Together these findings reveal that exposure to air pollution may perturb the trajectory of cerebral development and result in cognitive deficits during childhood.