Giving Compass' Take:

• A new study with advanced brain imaging is revealing how exposure in the womb to the pesticides, organophosphates, changes brain activity in teenagers. 

• How can this research be used to help stop the excessive use of pesticides? 

• Here's what pesticide monitoring misses. 

Organophosphates are among the most commonly used classes of pesticides in the United States, despite mounting evidence linking prenatal exposure to the chemicals to poorer cognition and behavior problems in children.

As reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers used functional near-infrared imaging (fNIRS) to monitor blood flow in the brains of 95 teenagers born and raised in California’s Salinas Valley, where agricultural spraying of pesticides is common.

Compared to their peers, teenagers estimated to have higher levels of prenatal exposure to organophosphates showed altered brain activity while performing tasks that require executive control, the study finds.

“These results are compelling, because they support what we have seen with our neuropsychological testing, which is that organophosphates impact the brain,” says lead author Sharon Sagiv, associate adjunct professor of epidemiology at the University of California, Berkeley.

Read the full article about pesticides affecting teens brain by Kara Manke at Futurity.