Authors:

Deanna Durben

Date Created:

Not specified

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About Paper:

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are man-made "forever chemicals" which frequently accumulate in the brain. These neurotoxic substances can alter various brain functions to negatively impact learning and memory, motor function, and mental health, but these mechanisms and effects are not fully understood. Our study aims to examine potential links between PFAS exposure and measures of psychiatric symptomology, cognition, and reward sensitivity, a neural measure that has been linked to depression. We recruited 20 participants, with 10 at-risk for psychosis and 10 control subjects, and measured PFAS exposure using blood concentration levels. For each participant, we administered the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview, which screens for 19 DSM disorders, and the NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery, which measures executive function, memory, language, and processing speed. Reward sensitivity was measured using EEG recordings during a guessing task with monetary rewards. We plan to choose 2-3 PFAS compounds and evaluate the effects of blood concentration on the three outcome measures. We will correlate PFAS to reward sensitivity and cognition task performance, then test whether PFAS exposure affects psychiatric diagnoses and symptoms. PFAS exposure is ubiquitous in our environment, making it imperative that we work to fully understand its effects on brain functioning and mental health in a multifaceted manner. Keywords: EEG; PFAS

Source:

Purdue University / 2024

Topics:

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Co-authors:

Deanna Durben