Breathing air pollution could change our brain. A new study shows that car fumes can change how our brain is wired - how parts the brain connect other parts. The research is the University of British Columbia in Canada. Researchers found that car fumes can change our brain's connectivity just two hours. A researcher, Professor Chris Carlsten, was surprised what he found. He said: " many decades, scientists thought the brain may be protected the harmful effects of air pollution." He added: "This study, which is the first its kind in the world, provides fresh evidence supporting a connection air pollution and [thinking]."
The traffic pollution study was 25 adults. The researchers asked the adults to breathe car fumes in a laboratory. The research team took brain scans the adults for two hours. The scans showed that networks the brain that we use thinking and remembering changed. There were fewer connections the networks. Another professor said the research was worrying. She said: "It's concerning to see traffic pollution interrupting these networks." The researchers said there needed to be more research to see how car fumes change our brain. They also advised people to close car windows when traffic. The brains the 25 people returned to normal after they breathed clean air.
