ERIC Number: EJ1401482
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1751-2271
EISSN: EISSN-1751-228X
The Role of Environmental Chemicals in the Etiology of Learning Difficulties: A Novel Theoretical Framework
Margolis, Amy E.; Greenwood, Paige; Dranovsky, Alex; Rauh, Virginia
Mind, Brain, and Education, v17 n4 p301-311 2023
Children from economically disadvantaged communities have a disproportionate risk of exposure to chemicals, social stress, and learning difficulties. Although animal models and epidemiologic studies link exposures and neurodevelopment, little focus has been paid to academic outcomes in environmental health studies. Similarly, in the educational literature, environmental "chemical" exposures are overlooked as potential etiologic factors in learning difficulties. We propose "a theoretical framework for the etiology of learning difficulties that focuses on these understudied exogenous factors." We discuss findings from animal models and longitudinal, prospective birth cohort studies that support this theoretical framework. Studies reviewed point to the effects of prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on reading comprehension and math skills via effects on inhibitory control processes. Long term, this work will help "close the achievement gap in the United States" by identifying behavioral and neural pathways from prenatal exposures to learning difficulties in children from economically disadvantaged families.
Descriptors: Economically Disadvantaged, Hazardous Materials, Learning Problems, At Risk Persons, Prenatal Influences, Reading Comprehension, Mathematics Skills, Cognitive Processes, Neurology, Environmental Influences
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2191/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (DHHS/NIH); National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) (DHHS/NIH); National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) (DHHS/NIH)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: R01ES032296; K23ES026239; P20HD109965; T32MH01643443