PLASTIC CHEMICAL EXPOSURE LINKED TO BRAIN DEVELOPMENT

Family Resiliency Center: A Research and Policy Center at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

New research shows a relationship between phthalates and deficits in cognitive function in rats. This podcast explores what the findings could mean to humans and society as a whole. Investigators call it a "cautionary study" that shows exposure to phthalates at critical stages in human development could lower the baseline of how smart humans are as a society and while it may be difficult to prove over time, "enough evidence in animals of various sorts, should make us worried." The research team successfully mimicked the average phthalates exposure in humans with subjects and found the subjects exposed responded slower to task changes, behaved differently than those not exposed, and showed physical changes to the front part of their brain. Hosted by: Ryann Monahan, Research Communications Specialist Featuring: Janice Juraska, PhD, Professor of Psycology and Neuroscience at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Family Resiliency Center affiliate & Daniel Kougias, PhD, Neuroscience University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2018.