DO PESTICIDES AFFECT LEARNING AND BEHAVIOR? THE NEURO-ENDOCRINE-IMMUNE CONNECTION. Porter, W.

Pesticides And You, 21(4):11-15(2004) http://www.beyondpesticides.org/lawn/activist/PorterLearningBehavior.pdf

Pesticide formulations are made with ingredients that penetrate the cells of plants and insects and others that actually eradicate them.  The human body and brain are therefore also susceptible to these chemical combinations.  Both routes of entry, absorption and inhalation, of pesticides allow for immediate access to the blood stream.

ASSOCIATION OF PRENATAL EXPOSURE TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINANT WITH INTELLECTUAL FUNCTION IN CHILDHOOD. Jacobson JL and Jacobson SW,

Journal of Toxicology. Clinical toxicology, 40: 467-475 (2002) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12216999

Although polychlorinated biphenyls were banned in the 1970’s, the chemical has proven to be persistent in landfills, sediments and wildlife. This study again suggests the ability of pesticides to endure in anaerobic settings.  Children born to women who had eaten large quantities of contaminated Lake Michigan fish were found to have adversely affected intellectual function.  “Poorer recognition memory in infancy, lower scores on a preschool IQ test, and poorer verbal IQ and reading comprehension at 11 years of age” was all found because of this exposure.

IMPACT OF PRENATAL EXPOSURE TO PIPERONYL BUTOXIDE AND PERMETHRIN ON 36-MONTH NEURODEVELOPMENT Horton M.K. et al.,

Pediatrics 127(3):699-706 (2010) http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/peds.2010-0133v1

The objective of this study was to test permethrin (a common pyrethroid) and piperonyl butoxide (a pyrethroid synergist), to find if there is an association between prenatal exposure and 36-month neurodevelopment.  Personal air samples collected during pregnancy demonstrated a link between negatively affected neurodevelopmental and prenatal exposure. Prenatal exposure to piperonyl butoxide was found to be directly and negatively associated with lower scores on the Bayley Mental Developmental Index from the Bayley Scales of Infant Development.

AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL APPROACH TO THE EVALUATION OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN EXPOSED TO PESTICIDES IN MEXICO. Guillette, E.A. et al.,

Environmetal Health Perspectives106(6): 347–353 (1998) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1533004/

Authors of this comparative study took into consideration known variables that would influence a child’s growth and development.  Two groups of 4-5 year old children from the Yagui Valley of northwestern Mexico were selected with similar “genetic backgrounds, diets, water mineral contents, cultural patterns, and social behaviors.”  After these variables, only one important difference remained: exposure to pesticides.

One group of children was selected from an agrarian area, while the second group is from hills above this area, where pesticide use is avoided.  This is a landmark study, often refereed to when studying issues of pesticide exposure on child development concerning mental function

When concerning levels of pesticides were found in breast milk and the cord blood of newborns in 1990, human studies for rapid assessment of environmental problems were developed.  The Rapid Assessment Tool for Preschool Children (RATPC), were made to measure growth and development.

These two groups of children, one from an area with high pesticide use and one from an area that avoided pesticides, were compared in these tests which examined normal childhood activities.  Although growth did not seem to be effected functionality was.  Children exposed to pesticides “demonstrated decreases in stamina, gross and fine eye-hand coordination, 30-minute memory, and the ability to draw a person.”

Drawings from children in both regions are below