# The role of air pollution in emotional neurodevelopment and risk for psychiatric disorders

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · 2023 · $523,863

## Abstract

Project Abstract
Outdoor air pollution, including fine particulate matter (PM2.5; and its constituents) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), is
ubiquitous in urban areas and is a neurotoxicant. Emerging toxicological and epidemiological evidence suggests
that air pollution may contribute to increases in emotional behavioral problems and is linked to various mental
health disorders in children, adolescents, and adults. These recent findings have elucidated the need to: 1)
examine long-term effects of prenatal and childhood exposure; 2) identify pre-clinical neuroimaging biomarkers
of neurotoxicological effects in neural circuitry implicated in mental health risk; and 3) investigate these effects
in late-childhood and adolescence, as it is an opportune time to identify and intervene for those at risk for
psychiatric disorders. We propose the first longitudinal study to examine how prenatal and childhood air pollution
exposure impacts corticolimbic circuitry involved in emotion processing and regulation, and the onset of
internalizing and externalizing psychopathology during the transition from late-childhood to early adolescence.
Our hypothesis is that prenatal and childhood air pollution exposure contribute to increased risk for mental health
disorders during adolescence through alterations in corticolimbic neural circuitry and emotional development. To
test our hypothesis, the proposed project will create lifetime residential air pollution exposure estimates and
leverage comprehensive neuroimaging of corticolimbic neural circuitry, emotion, and mental health data, from a
multi-ethnic and geographically diverse cohort of 9- to 10-year-old children (N=11,873) enrolled in the nationwide
longitudinal Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. Using multi-modal neuroimaging, we will
elucidate the effects of prenatal and childhood air pollution exposure on changes in the structure (Aim 1) and
function (Aim 2) of corticolimbic circuitry underlying emotional processing and regulation from late-childhood to
early adolescence. In Aim 3, we will examine how prenatal and childhood air pollution exposure influences the
development of emotional problems and subsequent risk for mental health disorders by using both: a)
dimensional scales and b) mental health diagnostic criteria (based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders). As an exploratory sub-aim, we will also examine a potential mediation of corticolimbic alterations at
9-10 yrs in the link between air pollution exposure during development and subsequent risk for internalizing and
externalizing psychopathology at ages 11-12 yrs. This study is primarily focused on long-term prenatal and
childhoodPM2.5 and NO2 exposure; however, we also plan to explore differential timing effects of these exposures
as well as the potential neurotoxic effects of other ambient pollutants (i.e. ozone, PM components). The large,
sociodemographic and geographic diverse sample of children from ABCD are at an opp...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10653023
- **Project number:** 5R01ES032295-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Megan Marie Herting
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $523,863
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-09-21 → 2025-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10653023

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10653023, The role of air pollution in emotional neurodevelopment and risk for psychiatric disorders (5R01ES032295-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10653023. Licensed CC0.

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