to monthly mean temperatures from conception to 8 years of age<\/strong>, and its effect on these magnetic resonance connectivity parameters measured at 9-12 years of age.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Window of susceptibility between pregnancy and three years<\/strong><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nThe results show that exposure to cold during pregnancy and the first year<\/strong> of life, and exposure to heat from birth to 3 years<\/strong> of age were associated with greater mean diffusivity<\/strong> in preadolescence, which points to slower white matter maturation.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
“The fibers of the white matter are responsible for connecting the different areas of the brain, which allows communication between them. As white matter develops, this communication is faster and more efficient. Our study is like a photograph at a certain moment in time, and what we see in that image is that the participants most exposed to cold and heat show differences in a parameter \u2013 mean diffusivity \u2013 that is related to a lower level of white matter maturity,” explains Laura Gran\u00e9s<\/strong>, researcher at IDIBELL and ISGlobal and first author of the study. “In previous studies, alteration of this parameter has been linked to poorer cognitive function and certain mental health problems,” she adds.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
“The greatest changes in connectivity parameters are observed in the first years of life,” says Carles Soriano<\/strong>, co-leader of the study and researcher at IDIBELL, the UB and CIBERSAM. “Our results suggest that it is during this period of rapid brain development that exposure to cold and heat can have long-lasting effects on the microstructure of white matter.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
No association was found between temperature exposure in the first years of life and fractional anisotropy at 9-12 years. The scientific team argues that one possible explanation is that these two metrics reflect different microstructural changes, and that mean diffusivity may be a stronger indicator of white matter maturation, compared to fractional anisotropy.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Poverty increases risk<\/strong><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nAn analysis stratified by socioeconomic conditions showed that children living in poorer neighborhoods were more vulnerable<\/strong> to exposure to cold and heat. In these groups, the windows of susceptibility to cold and heat were similar to those identified in the general cohort, but started earlier. These differences may be related to housing conditions and energy poverty.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
An important mechanism<\/strong> that could explain the effect of ambient temperature on neurodevelopment could be related to poorer sleep quality<\/strong>. Other possible mechanisms are the alteration of placental functions, the activation of the hormonal axis that leads to increased cortisol production or inflammatory processes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
“Our findings help raise awareness of the vulnerability of fetuses and the child population to temperature changes<\/strong>,” says Guxens<\/strong>. The results also underscore the need to design public health strategies to protect the most vulnerable communities in the face of the looming climate emergency.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The study underscores the vulnerability of fetuses and children to cold and heat, and the need to protect the most vulnerable communities from the effects of climate change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":24283,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[301,188,245],"tags":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2024-07-15 15:35:54","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/idibell.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24282"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/idibell.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/idibell.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idibell.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idibell.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24282"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/idibell.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24282\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24284,"href":"https:\/\/idibell.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24282\/revisions\/24284"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idibell.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24283"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/idibell.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idibell.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idibell.cat\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}