Lead Exposure May Speed Up Memory Loss Among Young Children

New Delhi: A new study has found that exposure to lead during pregnancy and early childhood may cause children to forget information more quickly, which could harm their ability to learn and affect brain development.

The research, conducted by scientists from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in the United States, focused on children aged 6 to 8 years. Using a well-known memory test called the “delayed matching-to-sample” task, the researchers measured how well the children remembered visual information over short periods.

They also introduced a new statistical method—the nonlinear modified power function—which had previously been used in animal and human brain studies. This is the first time the model is being applied in the context of environmental health research.

One of the key findings was that children who had higher blood lead levels between the ages of 4 and 6 years were more likely to forget what they had seen during the test, even when their lead levels were relatively low. The median blood lead level among the participants was just 1.7 micrograms per deciliter—well below many international safety limits.

The results, published in the journal Science Advances, highlight that even low levels of lead in the blood can disrupt essential cognitive functions, especially memory, during early childhood.

“There may be no more important a trait than the ability to form memories. Memories define who we are and how we learn,” said Dr. Robert Wright from Mount Sinai’s Department of Environmental Medicine. “This paper breaks new ground by showing how environmental chemicals like lead can interfere with the process of memory formation. Children with higher levels of lead in their blood forgot the test images faster than those with lower levels.”

The study also encourages further research into how environmental toxins like lead may affect other areas of brain function, including attention, decision-making, and motivation.

Researchers say the findings make a strong case for stricter policies to reduce lead exposure in children’s environments—particularly during pregnancy and early development—before long-term damage occurs.