Air pollution ‘clouds the mind’ and makes everyday tasks more difficult

By Stephen Beech

Air pollution "clouds the mind" and makes everyday tasks - such as supermarket shopping - more difficult, reveals new research.

People’s ability to interpret emotions or focus on performing a task is reduced by short-term exposure to particulate matter (PM) air pollution, say scientists.

It potentially makes everyday activities more challenging, according to the findings published in the journal Nature Communications.

The study is the first to experimentally manipulate inhalation routes of PM air pollution, providing valuable insights into how different pathways affect cognitive functions.

Globally, air pollution is the leading environmental risk factor to human health, increasing the chances of early death. It is linked to neurodegenerative conditions such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease.

PM2.5 is the air pollutant most responsible for human health effects with some 4.2 million deaths attributed to this size of particle alone in 2015.

Now scientists from the Universities of Birmingham and Manchester have discovered that even brief exposure to high concentrations of PM may impair a person’s ability to focus on tasks, avoid distractions, and behave in a socially acceptable manner.

Study participants were exposed to either high levels of air pollution - using candle smoke - or clean air. Their cognitive abilities were tested before and four hours after exposure.

The tests measured working memory, selective attention, emotion recognition, psychomotor speed, and sustained attention.

The findings showed that selective attention and emotion recognition were negatively affected by air pollution – regardless of whether participants breathed normally or only through their mouths.

The research team believes that inflammation caused by pollution may be responsible for the deficits, noting that while selective attention and emotion recognition were affected, working memory was not.

They say that indicates that some brain functions are more resilient to short-term pollution exposure.

Study co-author Dr. Thomas Faherty, from the University of Birmingham, said: “Our study provides compelling evidence that even short-term exposure to particulate matter can have immediate negative effects on brain functions essential for daily activities, such as doing the weekly supermarket shop.”

Co-author Professor Francis Pope, also from the University of Birmingham, said: “Poor air quality undermines intellectual development and worker productivity, with significant societal and economic implications in a high-tech world reliant on cognitive excellence.

“Reduced productivity impacts economic growth, further highlighting the urgent need for stricter air quality regulations and public health measures to combat the harmful effects of pollution on brain health, particularly in highly polluted urban areas.”

The researchers explained that cognitive functioning includes a range of mental processes crucial for everyday tasks.

Selective attention, for example, helps decision-making and goal-directed behavior, such as prioritizing items on your shopping list in the supermarket, while ignoring other products and resisting impulse buys.

Working memory serves as a temporary workspace for holding and manipulating information, vital for tasks requiring simultaneous processing and storage, and essential for tasks that require multi-tasking, such as planning a schedule or juggling several conversations.

Socio-emotional cognition, which involves detecting and interpreting emotions, helps guide socially acceptable behavior.

Although they are separate cognitive skills, they work together to enable the successful completion of tasks both at work in other aspects of life.

The research team says their findings highlight the need for further research to understand the pathways through which air pollution affects cognitive functions and to explore long-term impacts.

Co-author Professor Gordon McFiggans, from the University of Manchester, added: “This study shows the importance of understanding the impacts of air pollution on cognitive function and the need to study the influences of different sources of pollution on brain health in vulnerable older members of society.”