Prenatal pesticide exposure leaves measurable marks on the developing brain

May 29 • Detox

This is one of the more striking brain imaging studies published in recent years. Researchers at Children's Hospital Los Angeles reported findings in JAMA Neurology from a study following 270 children from birth through ages 6 to 14.

Using multiple MRI approaches, they found that higher prenatal exposure to chlorpyrifos (a common agricultural insecticide) was linked in direct proportion to exposure level with thicker gray matter in the frontal and temporal lobes, reduced white matter volumes in those same regions, disrupted myelin formation in key nerve pathways, lower blood flow throughout the brain, and worse fine motor and motor programming skills.

The mechanism involves chlorpyrifos triggering oxidative stress and inflammation in the developing brain, which damages the cells responsible for building the protective myelin coating around nerve fibers and impairs how brain cells produce energy. Residential use of chlorpyrifos was banned in the US in 2001, but it remains common in conventional farming, making non-organic produce an ongoing exposure route.

Buying organic is one of the most straightforward protective steps you can take, and the evidence for doing so during pregnancy is now compelling.

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Prenatal pesticide exposure leaves measurable marks on the developing brain