A recent study published in Nature Communications shows that short-term exposure to air pollution, specifically particulate matter, significantly impairs cognitive functions. Researchers examined how 26 participants performed on cognitive tests before and after exposure to polluted air, finding reductions in their selective attention abilities and emotional recognition capabilities. Notably, participants struggled to discern emotions on faces and manage distractions, which could influence behaviors like impulse buying while shopping. While working memory remained unaffected, the implications of these findings suggest a broader impact on social behaviors and public health linked to environmental conditions.
Participants exposed to air pollution were not as good at avoiding the distracting information... you could get more distracted by things.
Even brief exposure to high concentrations of PM affected participants' selective attention and emotion recognition regardless of whether they breathed normally or just through their mouth.
The study also found that participants performed worse on cognitive tests evaluating emotional recognition after being exposed to PM air pollution.
There are associative studies looking at short-term air pollution and incidents of things like violent crime... possibly saying that the reason for that might be some kind of emotional dysregulation.
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