According to a recent study, children and fetuses exposed to extreme temperatures have changes in the white matter of their brains, which connects different parts of the brain and facilitates communication. According to researchers, children's developing bodies' ability to regulate their body temperature makes them more susceptible to harsh surroundings.
Additionally, they discovered that the brain's white matter structure may be permanently impacted by early exposure.
The journal Nature Climate Change has published these findings.
Lead researcher Monica Guxens, of the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Spain, and the study's corresponding author, stated, "We know that the developing brain of fetuses and children is particularly susceptible to environmental exposures, and there is some preliminary evidence suggesting that exposure to cold and heat may affect mental well-being and cognitive performance in children and adolescents."
Guxens noted that there isn't enough data to determine how this kind of exposure can alter the structural makeup of the brain.
The study team examined the monthly temperatures that over 2,700 preteens were exposed to from birth until the age of eight. They performed brain scans using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Between the ages of nine and twelve, the effects of the exposure were assessed. The researchers used a technique known as "mean diffusivity" to measure the water flow and distribution in the preteens' brains in order to evaluate their white matter connections.
Water flows more in one direction than in all directions in more adult brains, indicating lower mean diffusivity, according to the study.
The researchers discovered that exposure to hotter-than-usual environments from birth until age three, as well as exposure to colder-than-usual temperatures during pregnancy and the first year of life, were associated with higher mean diffusivity at preadolescence, suggesting a slower maturation of their white matter.
The brain's many regions are connected to one another by the white matter fibers, which facilitate communication between them. This communication gets faster and more effective as the white matter grows.
Laura Granes, first author, an ISGlobal researcher
"Our study is like a photograph at a particular moment in time and what we see in that image is that participants more exposed to cold and heat show differences in a parameter -- the mean diffusivity -- which is related to a lower level of maturation of the white matter," Granes said.
Previous research has demonstrated a correlation between changes in mean diffusivity and mental health issues as well as lower cognitive function.
(Input from various sources)
(Rehash/Priyanka Pandey/MSM)
