Annual Research Review
Exposure to environmental chemicals and psychosocial stress and the development of children's learning difficulties
Bibliographic Data
Although awareness of the role of environmental exposures in children's cognitive development is increasing, learning difficulties have not yet been a major focus of environmental health science. Learning difficulties disproportionately affect children living in economic disadvantage, yielding an ‘achievement gap.’ Studies examining the neurobiology of reading and math have mostly included economically advantaged youth, leaving a great deal unknown about the neural underpinnings of reading and math difficulties in youth living in disadvantaged contexts. Critically, due to environmental injustice, these youth are disproportionately exposed to environmental neurotoxicants. Herein, we review literature supporting a theoretical framework of environmentally associated phenotypes of learning difficulties . We propose that prenatal exposure to neurotoxicants and early‐life exposure to psychosocial stressors increases risk for learning difficulties via effects on neural circuits that support cognitive processes which, in addition to literacy and numeracy, are integral to acquiring and performing academic skills. We describe models in which (1) prenatal exposure to air pollution has a main effect on learning via brain structure and function or associated domain‐general cognitive processes and (2) a joint ‘two‐hit’ pathway in which prenatal air pollution exposure followed by early life stress—when combined and sequential—increases risk for learning difficulties also via effects on brain structure, function, and/or associated cognitive processes. We review a select literature documenting effects of exposure to pollutants and early life stress on relevant neural circuits and associated cognitive processes in animal models and parallel findings in human epidemiologic studies. We advocate for team science in which researchers, practitioners, and policymakers collaborate to increase health literacy about environmentally associated phenotypes of learning difficulties and support the development of precision‐oriented instructional and environmental intervention methods for youth living in economic disadvantage
Affect (linguistics) · Cognition · Cognitive skill · Developmental psychology · Disadvantaged · Literacy · Psychiatry · Psychosocial · Stressor · Clinical Psychology · Health, Environment, Cognitive Aging · Human Health and Disease · Noise Effects and Management · Psychology
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
The association between poor reading and internalising problems
Diversity in Clinical and Biomedical Research
Developmental neurotoxicity of industrial chemicals
Developmental Dyslexia
Reprint Of
The Effects of Poverty on Childhood Brain Development
Central role of the brain in stress and adaptation
Socioeconomic Disparities and Air Pollution Exposure
Effects of early life stress on cognitive and affective function
Systematic review of the Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, Sustainment (Epis) framework
Childhood Poverty, Chronic Stress, Self-Regulation, and Coping
Adverse Childhood Experiences
Disproportionality and Learning Disabilities
Childhood poverty, chronic stress, and adult working memory
Low-Level Environmental Lead Exposure and Children’s Intellectual Function
Working Memory Capacity but Not Prior Knowledge Impact on Readers' Attention and Text Comprehension
Prenatal exposure to air pollution is associated with altered brain structure, function, and metabolism in childhood
Prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons modifies the effects of early life stress on attention and Thought Problems in late childhood
Where you live matters
Spatial and mathematics skills
Emerging neurodevelopmental perspectives on mathematical learning
Retrospective memory bias for the frequency of potentially traumatic events
The Combined Influence of Air Pollution and Home Learning Environment on Early Cognitive Skills in Children
Poverty and Academic Achievement Across the Urban to Rural Landscape
Explaining achievement gaps in kindergarten and third grade
Neighborhoods, Schools, and Academic Achievement
Replicated Evidence of Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Disability Identification in U.S. Schools
The Environment of Childhood Poverty
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |