Abstract:The impact of toxins on the developing brain is usually subtle for an individual child, but the damage can be substantial at the population level. Numerous challenges must be addressed to definitively test the impact of toxins on brain development in children: We must quantify exposure using a biologic marker or pollutant; account for an ever-expanding set of potential confounders; identify critical windows of vulnerability; and repeatedly examine the association of biologic markers of toxins with intellectual… Show more
“…This 17% increase in all developmental disabilities was caused in large part by shifts in the prevalence of ADHD and autism. Echoing this in the Annual Review of Public Health , Lanphear () cited psychiatric epidemiological data to show that the prevalence of developmental disabilities has recently dramatically increased in U.S. children. He cited data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicating a 123% increase from 2002 to 2010 in the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder among 8‐year‐old children, the age of peak prevalence, and stated: ADHD, the most common brain disorder of childhood, affects about 1 in 10 children in the United States; boys are 2.5 times more likely criteria for ADHD than are girls … these data indicate that we are in the midst of an epidemic of brain‐based disorders.…”
Why are boys at risk? To address this question, I use the perspective of regulation theory to offer a model of the deeper psychoneurobiological mechanisms that underlie the vulnerability of the developing male. The central thesis of this work dictates that significant gender differences are seen between male and female social and emotional functions in the earliest stages of development, and that these result from not only differences in sex hormones and social experiences but also in rates of male and female brain maturation, specifically in the early developing right brain. I present interdisciplinary research which indicates that the stress-regulating circuits of the male brain mature more slowly than those of the female in the prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal critical periods, and that this differential structural maturation is reflected in normal gender differences in right-brain attachment functions. Due to this maturational delay, developing males also are more vulnerable over a longer period of time to stressors in the social environment (attachment trauma) and toxins in the physical environment (endocrine disruptors) that negatively impact right-brain development. In terms of differences in gender-related psychopathology, I describe the early developmental neuroendocrinological and neurobiological mechanisms that are involved in the increased vulnerability of males to autism, early onset schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and conduct disorders as well as the epigenetic mechanisms that can account for the recent widespread increase of these disorders in U.S. culture. I also offer a clinical formulation of early assessments of boys at risk, discuss the impact of early childcare on male psychopathogenesis, and end with a neurobiological model of optimal adult male socioemotional functions.Keywords: gender, right brain, testosterone, endocrine disruptors, attachment, early assessment, regulation theory, child psychiatry, pediatrics, brain development, neuroendocrinology RESUMEN: ¿Por están los niños varones bajo riesgo? Para responder esta pregunta he usado la perspectiva de la teoría de regulación con el fin de ofrecer un modelo de los más profundos mecanismos siconeurobiológicos que subyacen bajo la vulnerabilidad del varón en desarrollo. La tesis central de este trabajo indica que significativas diferencias de género se ven entre las funciones sociales y emocionales de varones y hembras en las más tempranas etapas del desarrollo, y que las mismas resultan no sólo de diferencias en las hormonas sexuales y experiencias sociales sino también en el ritmo de maduración cerebral de varones y hembras, específicamente en el temprano desarrollo del lado derecho del cerebro. Presento investigación interdisciplinaria que indica que los circuitos de regulación del estrés del cerebro del varón maduran más lentamente que los de la hembra en los períodos críticos prenatal, perinatal y posnatal, y que esta maduración estructural diferencial se refleja en diferencias de género normales e...
“…This 17% increase in all developmental disabilities was caused in large part by shifts in the prevalence of ADHD and autism. Echoing this in the Annual Review of Public Health , Lanphear () cited psychiatric epidemiological data to show that the prevalence of developmental disabilities has recently dramatically increased in U.S. children. He cited data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicating a 123% increase from 2002 to 2010 in the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder among 8‐year‐old children, the age of peak prevalence, and stated: ADHD, the most common brain disorder of childhood, affects about 1 in 10 children in the United States; boys are 2.5 times more likely criteria for ADHD than are girls … these data indicate that we are in the midst of an epidemic of brain‐based disorders.…”
Why are boys at risk? To address this question, I use the perspective of regulation theory to offer a model of the deeper psychoneurobiological mechanisms that underlie the vulnerability of the developing male. The central thesis of this work dictates that significant gender differences are seen between male and female social and emotional functions in the earliest stages of development, and that these result from not only differences in sex hormones and social experiences but also in rates of male and female brain maturation, specifically in the early developing right brain. I present interdisciplinary research which indicates that the stress-regulating circuits of the male brain mature more slowly than those of the female in the prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal critical periods, and that this differential structural maturation is reflected in normal gender differences in right-brain attachment functions. Due to this maturational delay, developing males also are more vulnerable over a longer period of time to stressors in the social environment (attachment trauma) and toxins in the physical environment (endocrine disruptors) that negatively impact right-brain development. In terms of differences in gender-related psychopathology, I describe the early developmental neuroendocrinological and neurobiological mechanisms that are involved in the increased vulnerability of males to autism, early onset schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and conduct disorders as well as the epigenetic mechanisms that can account for the recent widespread increase of these disorders in U.S. culture. I also offer a clinical formulation of early assessments of boys at risk, discuss the impact of early childcare on male psychopathogenesis, and end with a neurobiological model of optimal adult male socioemotional functions.Keywords: gender, right brain, testosterone, endocrine disruptors, attachment, early assessment, regulation theory, child psychiatry, pediatrics, brain development, neuroendocrinology RESUMEN: ¿Por están los niños varones bajo riesgo? Para responder esta pregunta he usado la perspectiva de la teoría de regulación con el fin de ofrecer un modelo de los más profundos mecanismos siconeurobiológicos que subyacen bajo la vulnerabilidad del varón en desarrollo. La tesis central de este trabajo indica que significativas diferencias de género se ven entre las funciones sociales y emocionales de varones y hembras en las más tempranas etapas del desarrollo, y que las mismas resultan no sólo de diferencias en las hormonas sexuales y experiencias sociales sino también en el ritmo de maduración cerebral de varones y hembras, específicamente en el temprano desarrollo del lado derecho del cerebro. Presento investigación interdisciplinaria que indica que los circuitos de regulación del estrés del cerebro del varón maduran más lentamente que los de la hembra en los períodos críticos prenatal, perinatal y posnatal, y que esta maduración estructural diferencial se refleja en diferencias de género normales e...
“…In recent years, it has become apparent that even at the current historically low levels typical in the United States, lead burden in the body is correlated with alterations in human neural development (Brubaker et al, 2009; Cecil et al, 2011) and with behavioral and cognitive outcomes in children, including ADHD, conduct problems, reductions in executive functioning, reductions in IQ, and learning problems (Canfield, Kreher, Cornwell, & Henderson, 2003; Goodlad, Marcus, & Fulton, 2013; Lanphear, 2015; Marcus, Fulton, & Clarke, 2010; Nigg et al, 2008). The effect sizes after controlling for covariates are medium to small (on the order of r = .15) but are similar for ADHD, IQ, and conduct problems (a developmental outgrowth of some cases of ADHD).…”
Although attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a heritable neurodevelopmental condition, there is also considerable scientific and public interest in environmental modulators of its etiology. Exposure to neurotoxins is one potential source of perturbation of neural, and hence psychological, development. Exposure to lead in particular has been widely investigated and is correlated with neurodevelopmental outcomes, including ADHD. To investigate whether this effect is likely to be causal, we used a Mendelian randomization design with a functional gene variant. In a case-control study, we examined the association between ADHD symptoms in children and blood lead level as moderated by variants in the hemochromatosis (HFE) gene. The HFE gene regulates iron uptake and secondarily modulates lead metabolism. Statistical moderation was observed: The magnitude of the association of blood lead with symptoms of ADHD was altered by functional HFE genotype, which is consistent with a causal hypothesis.
“…It damages children’s brains, erodes intelligence, diminishes creativity and the ability to weigh consequences and make good decisions, impairs language skills, shortens attention span, and predisposes to hyperactive and aggressive behavior. Lead exposure in early childhood is linked to later increased risk for dyslexia and school failure.” [11] Other articles and reports have also confirmed these adverse effects [12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20]. …”
Section: Elevated Blood Lead Levels In Us Children and The Adversementioning
The failure by the city of Flint, Michigan to properly treat its municipal water system after a change in the source of water, has resulted in elevated lead levels in the city’s water and an increase in city children’s blood lead levels. Lead exposure in young children can lead to decrements in intelligence, development, behavior, attention and other neurological functions. This lack of ability to provide safe drinking water represents a failure to protect the public’s health at various governmental levels. This article describes how the tragedy happened, how low-income and minority populations are at particularly high risk for lead exposure and environmental injustice, and ways that we can move forward to prevent childhood lead exposure and lead poisoning, as well as prevent future Flint-like exposure events from occurring. Control of the manufacture and use of toxic chemicals to prevent adverse exposure to these substances is also discussed. Environmental injustice occurred throughout the Flint water contamination incident and there are lessons we can all learn from this debacle to move forward in promoting environmental justice.
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