Urban residents are getting dumber with each breath
Scientists say: To breathe in a polluted atmosphere is like trying to take remedies for dullness. New researches (performed with mice) have shown that prolonged exposure of polluted air leads to physical changes in the brain, as a result of which suffering the ability to learn and arise memory disorders.
Moreover, the results obtained during the study showed a direct connection between pollution and the level of depression or other anxiety. Scientists believe that all the above mentioned observations are quite fair for the people, write Livescience.com.
For 10 months, a group of researchers from Ohio State University explored two groups of mice. The first group breathed filtered air, and the second group five days a week six hours a day were forced to breathe air with small particles, such as those generated by automobile exhaust and emissions from industrial production. Concentration of contaminants was calculated from the ratio with the amount that regularly get people living in big cities.
After 10 months (a little less than half of the life cycle of the mice) experimental mice were subjected to several behavioral tests. In particular, within 5 days they were taught to find a way out from a simple labyrinth. The audit revealed that the mice inhaled the dirty air, required much more time for training. In addition, during testing, they often forget where the exit from the labyrinth is. This could not be said about their brothers who had spent 10 months on fresh air.
Another experiment demonstrated that air pollution has affected on internal condition of laboratory rodents. Unlike mice who inhaled filtered air, “residents of the city” showed a high level of depression and nervous disorders.
Eventually, the researchers found that mice have inhaled dirt, changes at the cellular level in the area of the brain that controls memory and learning abilities.
“The results indicate that prolonged exposure polluted air can have visible negative effect on condition of the brain and lead to various health problems, concluded a scientific study Laura Fonken. — It can cause serious consequences for millions of people around the world who have to live and work in conditions of polluted cities.”
Let’s remind, according to Rosstat (Russian Federal State Statistics Service) which made a rating of industrial cities of Russia according to the level of the atmosphere pollution, the most polluted city named Norilsk, and the most favorable environmental conditions appeared in Stavropol. Moscow, contrary to expectations, has gone far away from the leaders of the antirating. Last year the capital factory throw out in the surrounding atmosphere “only” 62,9 thsd tones, which is much more than in Vladimir (4 thsd tons), but much less than, for example, in Lipetsk (299.1 thsd tons).
