Baku, July 7 (AZERTAC). Researchers from Oho State University, Davis Research Center, say long-term exposure to air pollution does more that harm the heart and lungs - it also hurts the brain.

In mouse studies, exposure to fine particulate matter, created by cars, factories and natural dust, was associated with learning and memory problems.

In a separate experiment, mice exposed to polluted air that mimics that of human exposure also showed signs of depression, compared to those not exposed.

Dr. Fonken, along with Qinghua Sun, associate professor of environmental health sciences, and Sanjay Rajagopalan, professor of cardiovascular medicine, previously identified wide spread inflammation that occurs in the body from fine particulate matter - pollution that 1/3 the diameter human hair and reaches deep into the lungs and body organs.

In the current study, the Davis Research Center scientists showed inflammation is evident in the hippocampus of the brain.

In the study, mice were exposed to the same sort of air pollution as humans for 10 months then tested to see if they could find a dark comfortable escape hole, after five days of training. Those exposed to the fine particulate matter were less likely to accomplish the task.

In another experiment, the mice exposed to pollution showed symptoms of depression.

Fine particulate matter from air pollution is linked to diabetes, obesity and hypertension.

The new study shows breathing polluted air can also lead to brain changes - specifically fewer spines in parts of the hippocampus that relate to memory and cognition, shorter fibers called dendrites that act as messenger receptors and overall reduced cell complexity, found in the mouse studies.