# The Effect of Pesticide Exposure on Cognitive and Brain Development in Latino Children: PACE5

> **NIH NIH R01** · WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · 2020 · $662,792

## Abstract

Concern is mounting that commonly used pesticides are detrimental to children. Children are rapidly
undergoing cognitive, sensory, and motor development, and disruption of normal maturation can have life-long
consequences. The extant literature strongly indicates that prenatal exposure to pesticides leads to abnormal
neurobehavioral development. A recent brain imaging study further showed that prenatal pesticide exposure is
associated with disrupted anatomical brain development. However, results concerning the consequences of
postnatal pesticide exposure are much less conclusive. Some studies have reported neurobehavioral deficits
following postnatal pesticide exposure, but just as many studies have reported no negative consequences.
Currently there are no studies that assess the effects of postnatal pesticide exposure on brain development
using anatomical or functional brain imaging. More conclusive research on the effects of postnatal exposure on
neurodevelopment requires a highly exposed population, a longitudinal design, and careful quantification of
exposure and outcomes. We propose a two-group, prospective, longitudinal study of Latino children 7 years of
age with quarterly measurement of cumulative pesticide exposure using passive dosimetry wristbands as well
as documentation of prenatal and early life exposure through life history techniques. Children from Latino
seasonal farmworker families will be compared with children from Latino families not participating in farm work
and not living in an agricultural environment. Children in Latino farmworker families are at particularly high risk
of exposure. Not only are pesticides frequently used in their low quality housing, but they are also exposed to
agricultural pesticides used in nearby fields brought home by parental/sibling farmworkers on clothing. Children
will be followed for 2 years with measurement of neurobehavioral function at baseline, 1 year, and 2 years.
Neuroimaging will be performed in a subset of participants with structural and functional brain organization
assessed at baseline and two years later. Specific aims for this project are: Aim 1: Compare 2-year
longitudinal and prenatal/early life pesticide exposure between children of Latino seasonal farmworkers and
children of Latino parents who are not farmworkers. Aim 2: Compare 2-year longitudinal neurobehavioral and
emotional and behavioral functioning among children of Latino seasonal farmworkers relative to children of
Latino parents who are not farmworkers. Aim 3: Compare 2-year longitudinal anatomical and functional brain
development between children of Latino seasonal farmworkers and children of Latino parents who are not
farmworkers. Our nearly two decades of environmental justice (EJ) and community-based participatory
research (CBPR) on pesticide exposure with farmworkers and their families provides an auspicious context to
engage this vulnerable population in a study of both scientific and environmental justice import...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9926889
- **Project number:** 5R01ES008739-23
- **Recipient organization:** WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES
- **Principal Investigator:** Thomas A. Arcury
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $662,792
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1996-09-30 → 2022-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9926889

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9926889, The Effect of Pesticide Exposure on Cognitive and Brain Development in Latino Children: PACE5 (5R01ES008739-23). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9926889. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*