# Effects of Prenatal Exposure To Environmental Tobacco Smoke on Brain Function and Academic Skills

> **NIH NIH K23** · COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · 2020 · $130,218

## Abstract

Learning disabilities (LDs) affect up to 15 percent of children and lead to poor psychosocial outcomes and
school failure1. To date, research on the etiology of learning and achievement problems has focused largely on
endogenous, internal factors such as genetics, intelligence, and specific cognitive abilities like phonological
processing and language development2,3 with little attention paid to the contribution of exogenous,
environmental factors, such as neurotoxic exposures. This K23 application presents a research and training
program that will support the applicant on a path towards becoming an NIH-funded independent investigator
focused on using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study of the effects of neurotoxic
environmental exposures on brain development and the manifestation of learning and achievement problems.
The activities in this application build on the candidate's prior training and are set in a resource-rich
environment that will foster her development of expertise in (1) advanced analytic methods of fMRI research;
(2) environmental epidemiology; and (3) theoretical models of the neural bases of learning disabilities. Through
combining fMRI and environmental epidemiology, the current research proposal seeks to (1) evaluate
associations between ETS exposure and neurobehavioral outcomes; and (2) define a novel phenotype of
learning and achievement problems that derives from prenatal exposure to environmental tobacco smoke
(ETS). The overarching hypothesis is that functional abnormalities in frontostriatal circuits in children with
prenatal exposure to ETS contribute to impairments in cognitive control and academic skill deficits. The study
will use fMRI to assess the functioning of frontostriatal control circuits in 40 seven-year-old children with
different levels of prenatal ETS exposure, selected from a prospective cohort study. This design will allow the
candidate to test a direct link between prenatal exposure to ETS, cognitive control, and academic skills, thus
informing the neurobiological basis of a novel phenotype of learning and achievement problems. This training
and research program will facilitate the candidate's transition to an independent research career, will help
identify public health interventions to improve children's safety in the environment, and provide a viable target
for early intervention and prevention of learning and achievement problems.
RELEVANCE: The novel application of fMRI to the study of environmental causes of learning and achievement
problems will shed light on unstudied causes of these problems, thus filling an important gap in the research
literature. These data will test the concept that exogenous, preventable environmental factors contribute to the
development of learning and achievement problems, thereby expanding LD research beyond its current focus
on endogenous factors. Long term, results may be used to inform: 1) the development of novel therapeutics to
treat this ETS-ass...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9989114
- **Project number:** 5K23ES026239-05
- **Recipient organization:** COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES
- **Principal Investigator:** AMY MARGOLIS
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $130,218
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-09-30 → 2022-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9989114

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9989114, Effects of Prenatal Exposure To Environmental Tobacco Smoke on Brain Function and Academic Skills (5K23ES026239-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9989114. Licensed CC0.

---

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